“A community that does not value women will never thrive”

I live in Albuquerque,NM and I am a Mexican-American woman. This information is important in that when you are harassed in Albuquerque it is considered to be a “cultural thing.” I am of the culture and the men in my life do not harass women, so why is this okay?

Today, I was waiting for the bus in front of a grocery store in a very nice part of town. I was going home from work dressed in jeans and a button-down blouse, conservative. A car drives by and a young man sticks his head out of the window and yells, “You’re a slut!” I just stare back, and he keeps leering out at me. Then the car is gone.

Pretty common story right? Consider this one: a year ago, as I am waiting in front of a restaurant for my friend to pick me up, a SUV pulls up. The man asks me if I want a ride. I glare at him and shake my head. He hesitates, drives away and then circles back and slows down to stare at me. Is this common too, to be intimidated and objectified? Clearly this man thought that I was a prostitute. Which is even more uncomfortable for me because if a woman sells her body, she is often at a place in her life where she has few options, does that mean that by virtue of her role in society she is an object and men can do what they will?

Albuquerque is a good city, but a community that does not value women will never thrive. I do not feel safe.

– SBP

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

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