Following the latest instalment of It’s Nice That’s Nicer Tuesdays, we caught up with Eliza Hatch, a photo-journalist who’s created a platform to encourage discussion around harassment. Eliza’s success with the project comes at a time when more and more women are opening up about their own experiences of harassment, evidenced by the #MeToo campaign which continues to make headlines.
Here’s what Eliza had to tell us:
Adobe: Hi Eliza. Tell us a bit about what you do.
Eliza: I run a project called ‘Cheer Up Luv,’ where I interview and photograph women in public spaces and tell their stories of harassment.
A: How did ‘Cheer Up Luv’ come about?
E: I was told to cheer up on my way to a friend’s house. I’ve heard that many times before but this time it really irritated me. So, I chatted about it with my friends and we started comparing stories. It turned out they had all had many similar experiences themselves. One of my male friends couldn’t believe how prevalent it was.
I realised then that I wanted to help lift this veil of silence. I decided to do a bit of an experiment and so went out with a friend and stopped a few women on the street to ask them about their experiences. ‘Cheer Up Luv’ was borne out of that. It’s been so enjoyable to turn something negative into a positive, as it’s become a way to empower women to feel strong and be assertive, despite the harassment they may have suffered in the past.
A: There has been a lot of attention on harassment with the #MeToo campaign recently going viral. Do you think it marks a change towards attitudes around harassment of women?
E: I do, yes. It’s a shame that it had to take a Hollywood scandal to get people talking. But I’m glad women have made the decision to speak out and in turn encouraged others to do the same.
#MeToo was great in that it gave just the right amount of anonymity and brought everyone together without having to say much.
