Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for May 2014

“I’ll smile if and when I feel like it!”

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I’ve been getting stared at in the streets since I was about 13. I’m 17 now. And recently it’s been getting really hot where I live, so I’ve been wearing shorter shorts, that come a couple of inches or so above mid thigh. Apparently riding my bike and wearing these shorts with a tshirt is an invitation for older men to honk and stare at me.

I also go swing dancing every once in a while, and I’m constantly told by the men there: “Come on, smile! You have a beautiful smile!”
It makes me so angry that men think they have the right to tell me when to smile and that I should do so for them, as if I owe them something. I don’t owe you anything, I’ll smile if and when I feel like it!

– R

Location: Atlanta, GA

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Street harasser arrested in Egypt

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Verbal sexual harassment in public spaces is now illegal in Egypt. This is how one woman used it to stop her street harasser.

Via Egyptian Streets

“An Egyptian court has sentenced a man to one year in prison and fined him EGP 10,000 (1,427 US dollars) for verbal sexual harassment, reported Aswat Masriya.

The man, in his 20′s, had been accused of verbally harassing a woman at the Dokki Metro station. The woman reported the incident to a local police station where a report was filed and charges were laid.

A Cairo court found the defendant guilty of attacking the modesty of the victim, added Aswat Masriya.

While five sexual harassers were found guilty on various charges last year, this is the first case under new anti-sexual harassment laws in Egypt.”

Check out our Know Your Rights toolkit to find out the laws in the USA.

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