I was living and working in Oak Cliff, a rough area of Dallas, Texas, for about a year. It wasn’t uncommon to have cat-calls or people whistle as you walked down the street. But one time it went too far.
One day I was walking home from work and a truck passed by, rolled down the window, and cat-called. I ignored it and kept walking. The truck decided to take a spin around the block, pull up in a parking lot directly in my path, and the man rolled down his window and beckoned me over. He called, “You need a ride?”
I said no thanks and tried to walk around his truck which was blocking the sidewalk in the parking lot. It was a manual transmission so he could roll backwards and keep me where I was. He then said, “How about I take you out? Why are you by yourself, you’re too pretty to be out on your own. Hop in.”
I looked through the window and said in the best bold faced lie I could come up with, “My fiance wouldn’t exactly take it lightly if I jumped in a car with a random stranger. Excuse Me.”
The man called out again as I walked away. I hurriedly went behind his truck and ducked down the next block and through a few alleys to try and stay off the street in fear that the man was going to follow and continue his approaches. I wouldn’t walk around the neighborhood anymore by myself which now, looking back, was such a shame.
I allowed someone to take control over my life, a person I never saw again, but he had put so much doubt and fear in my mind that I just didn’t feel safe walking alone.
Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?
I’ve finally found a voice and now speak up, calling the perpetrators out on their actions.
– Anonymous
Location: Dallas, Texas
