Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Archives for September 2014

Inside Edition Covers Street Harassment

By

“Jillian Severin is a beautiful 25-year-old woman. But when she’s walking down the street, something inevitably happens that she dreads… rude cat calls.

“It makes you feel dirty,” Severin told INSIDE EDITION‘s Lisa Guerrero.

But this day, as Severin gets ready to hit the streets of New York City, she won’t be facing the cat-callers alone. INSIDE EDITION decided to tag along and try to capture what men do as she walks by.

INSIDE EDITION’s I-Squad documented Severin’s experience with multiple cameras. There were surveillance cameras behind her and in front of her. She even carried her own hidden cameras. And INSIDE EDITION’s Lisa Guerrero was just a few feet away, ready to turn the tables on the cat callers.”

Watch the segment:

Share

“Now I’m too frightened to go out alone at night”

By

I’ve been living in Copenhagen for the last couple months, and had never felt any danger until I moved from the relaxed, canal-lined Christianshavn to the inner city feeling Bispebjerg. I’ve lived in various metropolitan cities like Paris, New York and Barcelona where you know to always keep your guard up, and for the most part, that wasn’t the case in Copenhagen…until tonight.

I just got followed home by two men in their 20s/30s. It was around 10:30pm and I went to walk to a corner store two blocks away to get some snacks and had first noticed these guys walking in the same direction as me while I was leaving my place. It turned out that the corner store was closed so I walked back home to fetch my bike so I could find another one that’s farther away in the next neighbourhood, Nørrebro.

I took the back alley entrance as I only brought 1 key (the front entrance requires two keys). Once I got to my doorstep, I bent down to tie my shoelaces. That’s when I heard someone cough. I turn around and spot the same two men from earlier no more than two metres away from me! Once they were spotted, one of them immediately turned around and started walking away. The other just stared, as I quickly and calmly went to open my door. Before I got inside, I just stared back at them, as they now were walking away, but constantly looking back at me (I suppose to check to see if I was still there). Long story short, no snack run tonight.

Now I’m too frightened to go out alone at night in this neighbourhood. I’m actually moving away for good in two days, and I couldn’t be looking forward to it even more now. It’s not the first time this has happened to me, and by far not the worst experience (for that, it’s Paris); a part of me is just surprised it’s happened here in Copenhagen.

Optional: Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?

Make them aware that you know they’re following you. Whether it’s a simple stare down, to something more direct. And if you need help, scream as loud as humanly possible that you need help and you’re being attacked.

– A

Location: Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

Share

“It is a shame that women are made to feel this way”

By

I am 5′ 8 and 230 lbs. I am now a vegan, have been one for three weeks, and I have been cycling in order to lose weight.

I was just harassed while riding on the street. A piece of shit in a black car honked at me. He yelled, “Yeah baby” as I was riding on the road. I gave him the finger.

I read another account on here of a woman who refuses to exercise outside because of misogynist men like this piece of shit harassing her. It is a shame that women are made to feel this way. It is the fabric of misogyny that we have to deal with.

But f**k that! I f**king refuse to compromise my physical health because some sexist PIECE OF SHIT wants to act like he is 12 years old.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

I think we should outlaw this behavior and we should be able to report it.

– Anonymous

Location: Ontario, Canada

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea

Share

“Where it was darkest was where I was harassed”

By

I was walking on a sidewalk in downtown Washington, D.C. when a group of four men closed in on me. One guy extended his arm to try to get a “high five” with a “hug” and wouldn’t let me pass until I acknowledged him. It was either to jump into traffic or remain cornered by his group so I pushed and punched him with my fist. Luckily I was carrying keys so I scratched him, then ran away.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

The side of the sidewalk I was on had a broken street light. Where it was darkest was where I was harassed. It’s stupid that I should have to avoid dark sidewalks, but it’s also unfortunately as I learned, a truism.

– EL

Location: Washington, D.C., USA

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea

Share

Poem: “Bitches”

By

dude on the street says i am a f**king bitch

you a f**king bitch!
you ain’t too good for me
keep on walk’n bitch!

so i keep on walking
and walking
because it was daylight
and my dog was beside me
and i had faith, even if small,
in witness testimony
if dude decided to kill this bitch

because we all know what happens
when bitches refuse

bitches,
we wake up in this city
with a fight right outside our door

bitches,
we get dressed
knowing the eye-f**k disrobes the thickest layers
and the world
of all its pretense to justice

bitches,
we brush our teeth and ready our faces
not for the catcall or the hand on the arse
or worse
but for ourselves

bitches,
when we leave the house
we know the real issue isn’t us
but the men who feel entitled to our time, our bodies, our lives
and threaten to make our world contract
like a blast rewound

but a blast rewound is a blast in motion

bitches,
lets break the rotation of this storm

when the streets hold you hostage
turn around and bounce a bomb into
the eye of that storm
explode this cyclone

when the red fire of his words
hits the hillside of your flesh
fling that grenade
take in all the oxygen and
starve that fucker of hate

bitches,
we are not on the supply side
of male demand

we are soldiers in lipstick
with our own game to kill
in this average city
where breathable sidewalks
become battlegrounds
and we
its bitches

Michelle Marie has been harassed in the USA, Egypt and Costa Rica. She said, “I wrote this poem because I am sick and tired, sick and tired, sick and tired (I am sorry if it sounds angry but I am pissed as hell)”

Share