I’ve lived in Upper Manhattan, in Inwood, for a year now. This is a mostly un-gentrified Dominican neighborhood. I’m a petite Caucasian woman with red hair and very fair skin; needless to say, I stand out a bit more than I’d like.
I am harassed every single day at all hours in my neighborhood. On my way to work, on my way home, getting groceries; anywhere, anytime. If I come home late at night, I specifically alter my route to avoid streets that I know to expect a lot of harassers to be loitering.
While most of my harassment consists of whistles, hisses, kissing noises, lewd remarks, and a lot of Spanish (which I don’t speak, so I mercifully can’t understand these remarks), I have also had my arms grabbed and been followed by men.
Because of the language barrier, I often just firmly say “NO.” to my harassers. The times I haven’t felt safe enough to address a group of harassers have been the times that I’ve been followed, or the harassing has become louder, more aggressive, and more degrading.
It’s unfortunate that I feel unsafe and uncomfortable in my own neighborhood on a daily basis. I do feel that my harassment is racially charged – my name is NOT “sexy little white girl,” “sexy white mama,” or any of the other horrible nicknames men have found to incorporate my race into a disgusting comment.
I am exhausted by the stress of being outside of my apartment. My plan is to move as soon as I possibly can.
Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?
I do plan to begin reporting men who harass me while they are working – delivery drivers, MTA employees (especially), and anyone else I can easily identify their employer. I’m also going to try the cards on the site as a way to silently respond to harassers while making a statement.
– AB
Location: Vermilyea Ave, NYC 10034
