Source: HRO.org (info), 18/09/12

· Moscow city & Moscow region

On Wednesday, 19 September at midday, individual picketers from a movement against the male harassment of women on the streets will pass by the State Duma. The event was announced by the initiator and leader of the Rosnakhal movement, Yulia Kolyadina. Members of the movement are proposing to stiffen penalties for the most serious cases of harassment.

According to the Rosnakhal press release, "millions of women each day become victims of unwarranted attention by men. By showing too much forcefulness in their attempts to pick up women, representatives of the stronger sex overstep the acceptable boundary of moral conduct. All too often, pushiness turns to coarse insults, and in some cases escalates into violence or even the murder of girls or women".

Yulia Kolyadina staged a risky experiment. Armed with a video camera, she documented insistent harassment by young men. In response to a cool refusal (sometimes along with a polite explanation of why the woman did not wish to get acquainted, let alone go to the man's home), representatives of the "stronger sex", as the video shows, would often erupt into rude language and offensive behaviour. The video has become extremely popular on Youtube.

Rosnakhal contacts for the media: phone: +7-925-031-86-23 http://rosnahal.ru