Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for 2011

“Look out for those creepy guys scouting for women & tell them ‘Trenchcoat Girl’ said hi”

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It was my first time leaving the country and I was extremely excited (I also found an escape from the Australian summer) but at the same time I was a bit wary of America’s reputation. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised how friendly and respectful everyone we encountered was. I came back with many positive experiences, but there was just one incident I thought might be interesting to share.

We were shopping at the Horton Plaza in the Gaslamp district I just came off a ramp my trenchcoat soaked trying to get shelter. I needed to get back to the meeting point asap, I was already pushing it by looking at the last store.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder I stopped and saw a  man I guess to be in his late 20s-30s (I’m 19 but I look about 22) he asked if he could ask me a question, at this point I assumed he was going to ask me the time.

“I’m not coming onto you or anything” he assured as he rubbed my arm a bit too familiarly. Immediately alarm bells went off and my stomach clenched bracing me for whatever was going to happen.  I looked around and I saw two other men behind him I assumed to be with him I was outnumbered…

He claimed to be with a casting agency (of course he didn’t name his company) and they were scouting for ’25 ladies’ for a gig…..I think you can see where this is going. This was no false alarm. I had already heard about the dodgy practices of the porn industry and I wasn’t interested in becoming a ‘star’ regardless of my state of dress. This may be my first time out of the country but I wasn’t going to be taken advantage of.

I could tell by the way he talked to me was trying to charm me, it felt grating considering he was clearly overestimating his ‘charm’. In a few short sentences I could tell he assumed I would be thrilled to have this job opportunity (Which I couldn’t accept no work visa, no work) and would jump at chance to cater to his whims; I was a just some naive desperate little girl in his eyes.

That’s when I turned the tables.

I looked him dead in the eye and asked “Is this for porn?” in a nonchalant tone. He chuckled nervously at my pre-emptive strike clearly put off by my bluntness. Feeling satisfied I visibly smirked at him and walked off hearing them behind me shouting “I don’t even know what she’s talking about!” for the benefit of anyone in earshot. I made a waving off gesture without even looking back and kept walking I looked back a minute later and they were gone. I felt empowered I felt so proud of myself. They couldn’t answer the million dollar question and came off worse for wear. He wasn’t  expecting a ‘lady’ (his word) to outright ask him his intentions and ended up sounding like a schoolboy trying to defend himself. My only regret is not thinking of better comeback.

But the more I think about it I was extremely lucky, that this was only a minor incident. I was in a safe area and left almost immediately so I could afford to be sarcastic. Many other girls and women can’t risk that in fear of escalating the situation it’s terrifying and extremely depressing but I think blogging about helps. All I can say to anyone who can snark back and remain safe is go for it. You might find your harasser at a loss for words and a smile on your face. : )

Also look out for those creepy guys scouting for women tell  them ‘Trenchcoat Girl’ said hi.

– Trenchcoat Girl

Location: Horton Plaza, San Diego, California

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Believe it or not, I did not walk by so that you could ask me to have sex with you

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Designer Answer Ejiasi created this graphic for a design class last year when she was a student at the University of Iowa. She recently shared it with me and said I could share it for you all to see and appreciate. I love it.

This is the thought behind the project:

“The design is based off of an experience I had at a fast food restaurant in Florida roughly two years ago on my birthday. It’s also based on a number of the experiences I had read about on this blog and other street harassment blogs.

I designed it to be similar in size to those large coupons/fliers that come with the Sunday paper. I wanted it to resemble a fast food ad in order to pull people in to reading it with the expectation of it being a coupon, and instead having them come to realize it’s for a different cause altogether, and thereby add awareness to the issue of street harassment.”

Way to go, Answer, for using your talents to raise awareness about street harassment and help work to end it!

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“Hey, I’m hungry. Come satisfy my appetite!”

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The first time I ever experienced this was 7th grade. I was wearing pants several sizes too big and a painting shirt (so it’s not as though I was dressed revealingly. And I was also about 13, for heaven’s sake. What is there to reveal?).

As I was waiting for a light to turn green so I could cross the street, a pick-up with 4 or 5 guys began yelling things like, “Hey, I’m hungry. Come satisfy my appetite!”

I’m pretty sure I ignored them until they drove off when their light turned. It speaks a lot, though, that I still remember this seven years later. I could probably name every single time I’ve been harassed, in fact.

– EW

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Not giving a number isn’t a reason to try to murder someone…

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Two guys tried to run me over with their car while I was walking to school, because I ignored them and didn’t want to give my phone number. I’m shaking with rage over here that assholes get away with this behaviour.

– Daphné

Location: Ghent

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Find suggestions for what YOU can do about this human rights issue.

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Thousands to Commemorate the First International Anti-Street Harassment Day

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MEDIA ADVISORY

First International Anti-Street Harassment Day

WASHINGTON, DC – On March 20, thousands of women and men across the United States and throughout the world in cities such as Cairo, Cape Town, Delhi, London, Mexico City, and Toronto will participate in the first International Anti-Street Harassment Day.

Numerous studies show that more than 80 percent of women worldwide face catcalls, groping, stalking, and other forms of gender-based street harassment, especially when they are alone in public. Despite the evidence that street harassment is a global problem and one that reduces women’s mobility and limits their access to resources, it’s often dismissed as a trivial problem, a compliment, or women’s fault.

“Street harassment is a form of gender violence, and it impedes women’s equality with men,” said Holly Kearl, street harassment expert and founder of International Anti-Street Harassment Day. “Since street harassment often increases during the spring months, I saw March 20, the first day of spring, as an ideal day to bring people together to speak out and take action against street harassment.”

The goals of International Anti-Street Harassment Day are to inspire future initiatives focused on combating street harassment locally and globally and to take us one step closer toward ending the social acceptability of the bullying behavior.

Every participant of International Anti-Street Harassment Day will raise awareness about street harassment by sharing their stories online or in person. Hundreds of participants plan to attend community events, hand out materials on their campus or at subway stops, and conduct surveys and audits to better evaluate safety issues for women in their area.

In Egypt, in light of recent attention focused on the problem of men harassing women, Harassmap co-founders Rebecca Chiao and Engy Ghozlan are organizing teams of volunteers to walk through their neighborhoods and talk about street harassment with key individuals, like shop keepers and transportation workers. “Our idea is to create safe zones for women … to help change the street’s environment when it comes to sexual harassment acceptability,” Ghozlan said.

Individuals interested in participating can find 10 ideas for action at www.stopstreetharassment.com, RSVP on Facebook, tweet using the hashtag #antistreetharassmentday, and look for existing events — or add their own — on CrowdMap.

Spring is no excuse for street harassment.

Contact: Holly Kearl

Confirmed events:

  • 12 events are listed on CrowdMap
  • Facebook event pages for other places:
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