I was sitting at a red light on my bike minding my own business when I realized a guy sitting on a nearby bench was talking to me. I didn’t acknowledge him because I was alone, but being aware gave me the displeasure of hearing what he was saying.
“You look like a 46 dollar whore, and 40 is for the bike.” Insulting to me and my bike. The whole time, a cop was standing about ten feet away. He didn’t even make a comment. The loser was still flapping his gums together as the light turned green and I rode away.
I was left feeling unsafe, with the unpleasant reminder that some men really do think of me a nothing more than an object. To top it off, men who don’t harass sometimes don’t understand how distressing it is, because they never see it. They don’t realize how scary it is and how powerless it makes you feel.
– MR
Location: Charles Street at North Avenue, Baltimore, MD
Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.
Violet says
Mind if we possibly repost this on our site at a later date?? I’m collecting stories like this one that show an obvious lack of social justice and law enforcement by police officers who knowingly and willingly decline to intervene in situations like this for a section on our site called “Police department-FAIL”
administrator says
No, go right ahead and repost it. I love that category for stories.
Tbg says
Next time, stop, get off the bike, walk up to the cop, read his name plate, memorize it, and that should do it.
Tbg says
Make sure the cop notices that you’re noting down his name! If that doesn’t help, then I can only say, “Sigh!”
Golden Silence says
Stories like this show that the cops just don’t give a damn! There are also stories where a woman reports harassment to an officer, and that officer will dismiss it with “What do you want me to do? Arrest someone for calling you names?”
That flippant attitude is the reason why people don’t take harassment seriously. That “Police Department-FAIL” compilation sounds like a great idea.
Clare B says
Oh I think men know exactly how it makes women feel. They’re not that stupid, although they act like they are. Their behaviour is designed to do exactly what it does – upset, unsettle, impotently annoy and intimidate.
Marissa says
Mr. Policeman, I know doing your job would require actual effort, but that doesn’t mean you should get paid for sitting on your @ss. To MR, I feel for you nobody should have to endure rude comments public in simply because of her/his gender. Don’t take it personally; the guy had probably just gotten high/drunk and you were unlucky enough to run into him. However, in order for Police to intervene you have to bring it to their attention somehow. If a cop hears someone yell an insult at another person, the cop has no way of knowing if he/she knows the person or is legally harassing them. Unfortunantly, its a trade-off between letting some instances of street harassment go unpunished and having the police confront someone who just gave an overeager greeting to a stranger.
Marissa says
Men, don’t do this. Even if the law won’t stop you, this behavior makes everyone around you uncomfortable and WILL NOT MAGICALLY GRANT YOU SUCCESS WITH WOMEN. Hot girls only respond well to being treated like crap in the movies…inform your friends of this as well.
Women, be proactive in reporting harassment cases to the police, as they won’t or can’t go out of their ways to help you unless they clearly see a threat of violence. We may have to deal with being dismissed, ignored, or even blamed by police, but eventually if enough harassment reports are filed police departments and D.A.’s will have an incentive to step up inforcement and seek harsher penalties.