I stumbled upon this site. I think the work you are doing is really good!
I am from India and street harassment here is often trivialized by using words like “eve teasing.” It happens to us all the time, everywhere! The fact that most of us here use public transport and also because all forms of public transport are dreadfully crowded makes it very easy for groping and other forms of unwelcome touching!
I am forty-five-years-old and so no longer the target for this. But I remember how much of a problem it is when you are a teenager or even younger. I have a teen-aged daughter and so this is something that I have alerted her about . It is no point avoiding public transport. It is part of life here and one needs to be alert about guys who feel you up or whistle at you on the road.
I have often found that guys who grope you in a crowd are usually middle aged men while those who whistle and make noises at you on the road are much younger. The guys who grope generally target young girls -teenage or younger. The child usually is so shocked because she is embarrassed and does not have the confidence to say anything. It helps if someone notices this and takes on the creep! When it happens on the road and others watch there is a feeling of deep anger and embarrassment.
I will tell you about an incident that happened when I was in college. I was in a bus sitting on the aisle seat. There was a man standing on the aisle who was falling all over me and trying to squeeze in between my knees. The lady by the window was not affected but I was distinctly uncomfortable. So I finally asked him loudly if he wanted to sit on my lap? I guess I embarrassed him enough for him to move away. Some school kids who were at the back thanked me when I got off the bus. They said that he had behaved similarly with them and it was to avoid him that they had migrated to the rear of the bus.
We in India are in a sort of social change mode at this moment after the gruesome rape of a young woman in Delhi in December this year. There have been protests and debates on this entire issue demanding a stronger anti rape law.
While rape is horrible and probably an extreme situation, I think people need to take this kind of harassment equally seriously in our country. I really like what you are doing and wish there were more organizations in our country which worked exclusively on this ( we have so many problems affecting women that this is just one in the long list ).
– Meera
Location: India
Share YOUR street harassment story for the blog
Plan to speak out against street harassment, April 7-13, 2013, during International Anti-Street Harassment Week.
