Being harassed on the streets of NYC has been a common occurrence in my life since before I was 13 years old.
The summer that I turned 21, there was an incident that left me terrified to leave my apartment and having violent nightmares every night.
A group of 6+ men were hanging out and eating on the street corner across from my subway stop. As I walked past, one of them lunged at me. When I jumped away, all of them started laughing. I fled. The one who lunged called after me, “Hey slut, nice hair.”
I had never met or seen these men before. I am not a slut. I was not dressed provocatively (not that what I was wearing should give them any excuse). I did not “ask for it.”
What I did do was run to my apartment, lock every door and window, and sit shaking and crying in my room.
Even though they haven’t been on the street corner since, I see them almost every day in my nightmares and in the faces of all the men who have harassed me since.
– SW
Location: Jackson Heights, NY
