Chega de Fiu Fiu: Enough With Catcalling

Brazilian documentary Chega de Fiu Fiu addresses catcalling and sexual harassment in the streets of Brazil

By Carly Berke

On Wednesday, October 10th, the Initiative on Cities and the Boston University Center for Latin American Studies presented a screening of the Brazilian documentary Chega de Fiu Fiu, which translates roughly to Enough With Catcalling. Filmmakers Amanda Kamanchek and Fernanda Frazão use the documentary to explore sexual harassment and catcalling in the streets of Brazil, and the film interweaves the stories of three Brazilian women who share their versions of the female experience.

The project originates from a campaign led by the non-profit initiative Think Olga, which was founded in Brazil in 2013 with the intent of “empowering women through education”. Juliana de Faria, the founder of Think Olga, launched the initiative after growing frustrated with how normalized sexual harassment and violence had become in Brazil, and she wanted to provide a new platform for women in Brazilian society. The organization highlights intersectionality, transparency, innovation, and collaboration as its key tenets.

“It has taken me a long time to realize that the harassment we are experiencing is not something personal, but political.” de Faria told Vogue in an interview. “The way we talk today about gender abuses and inequality has changed a lot. It’s a small big step.”

Think Olga’s “Chega de Fiu Fiu” campaign was initially comprised of photographs and illustrations that brought attention to street harassment in Brazil, an issue that had never been taken seriously by the Brazilian public or the government. The campaign urges that obscene comments, jokes, unwanted sexual advances, and general sexual annoyances should not be construed as compliments, jokes, or natural tendencies of the male gender, but rather are important examples of sexual harassment.

Chega de Fiu Fiu also included a research study that collected responses from nearly 8,000 Brazilian women regarding their experience with sexual harassment. The results were astonishing –  more than 98% of the women surveyed confirmed that they had experienced sexual harassment or assault, and 90% claimed that they did not think what they had experienced was legal. Other research also indicated a general lack of knowledge surrounding the issue – a poll conducted by the Brazilian Forum of Public Security in 2016 found that one in three Brazilian woman believe that when a woman is raped, the fault resides with the victim.

When Think Olga published their data, the campaign took off. Sexual harassment and assault were suddenly brought to the forefront of public discourse and enabled women to finally open a public dialogue about these issues. Moreover, Think Olga established networks for survivors and emphasized the importance of empowerment.

The campaign also published a “fiu fiu” map, which permits women to report where they have been harassed or assaulted in public spaces. Hundreds of women have shared their stories and tagged sites across Brazil in an attempt to create a safer society for all women.

The creation of Chega de Fiu Fiu the film was a serious endeavor that took over 1,000 donors. It has circulated across Brazil and premiered at the ACT Human Rights Film Festival in Colorado.

The film opens with pristine shots of Brazil that glide silently over São Paulo and Brasilia. But our perception of this serene world starts to change as anonymous female voice overs begin to recount traumatic experiences of sexual assault or harassment. Suddenly, the streets below feel much more sinister – an accurate representation of how most women feel when traveling alone in public spaces.

The documentary then follows three subjects: Rosa Luz, from Brasilia, Raquel Carvalho, from Salvador, and Teresa Chaves, from São Paulo. Each woman invites the audience into her world: taking us along her daily commute, enabling us to explore the streets of her city, and sharing her life story.

The issues they discuss combine public safety, urban planning, infrastructure, and transportation. For instance, they all emphasize the fact that urban cities in Brazil aren’t “designed for women”, and they all feel incredibly unsafe traveling alone. They also note that groups congregating in public are entirely comprised of men and that there is a severe lack of women in the public space, a trend that can be traced back to the influence of historical gender roles in society.

The film also discusses toxic masculinity and how catcallers often harass women in an attempt to establish dominance, or display their bravado. One sequence of the film features several Brazilian men discussing the idea of catcalling and sexual harassment. While some seem to understand that catcalls and whistles are generally non-consensual and thus harassment, many also reiterate the archaic idea that women who dress provocatively are asking for attention, or that inappropriate male advances should be perceived as flattery.

At the forefront of the film’s argument is the idea that women must move through the world in a different manner than men. The relative mundanity of everyday tasks – taking the bus, crossing a parking lot, leaving a party to come home – are not simple endeavors for women, who are trained to be extremely cautious when traveling in public spaces. The film attempts to enlighten audiences to the normalized harassment and violence that women face every single day.

Think Olga’s mission mirrors similar movements that also address sexual harassment and assault, including Time’s Up and Me Too. Chega de Fiu Fiu is a reflection of the strong feminist movement that has emerged in the past few years that attempts challenge the traditional patriarchal society.

Pictured below: Rosa Luz, a transgender woman from Brasilia.