This kind of thing makes my blood boil.
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that a woman wearing pants & modest safety clothing poses a religious problem – in THIS country! @zoosermom, would you be comfortable sharing where this is happening?
@blossom – you usually have such succinct, spot-on advice… any thoughts about this situation?
Katliamom, it is one of the Hasidic townships in the greater NYC area.
religious problem<<<<<<
It Isn’t a religious problem. It is a power spat, territorial bluster, whatever you like to call it.
Like the one that wanted the town/county to pay for transporting its children by bus, but also wanted all of the female bus drivers fired because they “shouldn’t” be in the presence of their boys?
Grrrrrr.
Yes, exactly.
Pretty darned helpful in the court of public opinion if it were to come to pressing charges somehow. Police have a hard time these days when there is video evidence of misconduct, and it is pretty easy to get it, even surreptitiously.
Wow that’s crazy that that happened to your daughter.
I don’t know what I would do if someone tried to take my camera.
Could you possibly get a police escort or some support of the elders/leaders in that community?
Wow, I can’t help but notice how some line up an “us and them” view. Cameras? If the community finds this threatening, agree with doschicos about getting the right support from their leaders. And appearing as respectfully as possible. And, always knowing who’s got your back.
I had to send women into drug neighborhoods. Luckily, troublemakers slept til late afternoon and so we got the team in (sometimes, an individual,) very early in the am. In cases, they had to go around buildings or into apt foyers. The pressure to finish was there. But the number one message to these women was, “Your safety first. Your instincts.”
And yes, if a man had to go instead, even if from another team, we did that. We had men who were willing. This wasn’t gender bias on our part, but protecting the women who had reasons to fear.
Otoh, we had men who stopped cold when there was a barking dog.
Good luck.
“Katliamom, it is one of the Hasidic townships in the greater NYC area.”
Interesting. I had something much more rural in my head. Must have been the boots and hard hats. So much for assumptions.
Maybe they should just go on the Sabbath. 
My first thought was that this was Kiryas Joel or some place like that. It sounds as if sending letters to the places being surveyed isn’t enough. Their boss needs to speak to the spiritual leaders of the community and if possible, get permission. Barring that, at least telling them that two women will be there on official business might help. But maybe not. Some people are just too bigoted to listen.
We should not turn this thread into a religious debate.
They are not going to get the support of the community leaders so continuing to try to do so is likely pointless. The idea of videotaping everything is a good one. Documentation of what they community members are doing is very important. This in America and there are laws about this sort of thing.
And also being in communication with the police is an excellent idea since they are acting within the parameters of the law and the community members (some) are not.
I don’t think coming on a Saturday would help, it would seem like work and b even more upsetting. Funny, my first thought was a fundamentalist Jewish community.
Seems that the us vs them view is being taken by the extremely hostile members of the community being surveyed, to me. But, yeah, when it comes to trying to intimidate women who are performing a legitimate job because you think that women ought to be covered up and restricted, it IS us against them, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t care who the group in question is: this is America. I’m militant. The women of your community may choose to subject themselves to your rules, the rest of us are free to make our own decisions.
Banging on the car and attempting to pull the cameras away is assault. Photos should be taken of all the people who do this and a police report should be made.
Yes, consolation. But we don’t know chicken and egg here. I can imagine the visitors were respectful, but don’t know what triggered the banging. It sounds like a delicate situation, ftom the first steps. I’m not an apologist, more that my social scientist head asks.
There was recently a very large scandal in the community - completely unrelated to my D’s work - that involved many arrests and a lot of publicity. So my D is sympathetic, but her work is government-related and must be done for the benefit of the community, there is absolutely no gotcha involved, and no harm could come to anyone as a result. Also, the two women are young and uncovered. My D has a hardhat, but she has very, very long hair that is visible in a braid.
I just googled. I think i know the town where this happened. It has a Vlad, a Jewish council, and the article I read named its leaders. They are saying that not all the Orthodox members of the community were involved in the fraud. The Vlad has some sort of committee to foster business development in the town.
It seems a perfect group to reach out to. Sending @zoosermom a link.
Oh, and I don’t think this group requires a wig or head covering until a young woman is married.