I was walking by a local park at 9.30 on a Sunday morning with my hood up (as it was drizzling), when a man crossed the road and began walking quickly behind me. I got the impression he was following me, so I veered to the right to pause and look at my phone, while noticing out of my periphery him turning to see what I looked like as he walked by. I remained where I was until he walked on. I then carried on walking but slowed my pace and shortly after, about ten metres ahead of me, he turned around, walked towards me and said, “Hey, I’ll lick your pussy every night, every night,” to which I instinctively responded “Get away!” and he carried on walking past.
This could have gone very differently I realised afterwards. He was about 15 years my senior and rather built, but I am tall for a girl, but what this indicates is the context is irrelevant, the objective blatant. His pursuit was already in motion before even catching a glimpse of me, aside from my outline. He knew my gender, that was all. There have been countless occasions in which I have been cat-called on the street (not as confrontational as this instance, but it is the same).
Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?
Until the persistently objectifying media stops dehumanizing women, until men stop dehumanising women, the only thing you can do is walk away, speak up, raise awareness and challenge the naturalisation of harassment. Most importantly, tell men this is never acceptable.
– MW
Location: Albert Park in Middlesbrough, UK
