Mexico City campaign against sexual harrassment goes viral

Mexico City's video campaign against sexual harassment has gone viral, getting over 20 million plays online in less than two weeks, UN Women Mexico announced on Wednesday.

The United Nations organization for women's affairs, which cosponsored the campaign with city authorities, celebrated the success of two videos that aimed to sensitize men to the traumas of sexual harassment.

"The impact was such that international, national and local media outlets took the clips and reproduced them on their pages, generating even more conversation among the Mexican and international communities," said the agency.

One particularly controversial video shows commuters on Mexico City's subway confronted with the sight of a seat in the shape of a naked male torso.

The special seat, reserved for men only, was designed to make men feel greater empathy towards women, many of whom are routinely molested or sexually harassed on public transportation.

The videos, which began circulating on March 21, have been reproduced 23 million times on YouTube and elsewhere, said the agency.

The second part of the campaign began this week with print ads and posters in the subway system aiming to raise awareness about the fact that sexual harassment is punishable by law, and should be denounced.

"It is the first time that UN Women launches a campaign on such a scale in Mexico City directed at men. Worldwide, most campaigns about sexual violence are directed at women and young girls, but if we want to generate a socio-cultural change it is indispensable to promote masculinity that is not violent or harmful," said the agency.

According to UN Women Mexico, more than 79 percent of women in Mexico City say they feel unsafe in the streets and nearly 88 percent say they feel unsafe on public transit. Enditem