It was around 5:30 in the evening and I was walking down an alley which had houses on one side, however, there was a street light knocked out right above the spot where the three harassers were sitting. I was walking along and one of the guys, in a sing-sing voice called out for his dick to be sucked. I immediately stopped in my tracks, turned around to face them and made a stern face and looked them in the eye for about 5 seconds, and one of them asked “What?” in a very surprised tone.
After I’d stood narrowed my eyes at them for a while, I began walking away, with my heart racing, hoping they wouldn’t follow me. I could hear one of them justify amongst themselves (or maybe it was for me to hear) how he had said the phrase only as the lyrics to a song. I felt like I should’ve made them apologize. It’s just that these unfortunate samples of human existence do not deserve to get the better of my calm but the scenario of an ideal response keeps bothering me.
Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?
Build a person’s conscience and morals in the private space to ensure safety in the public space.
– S.R.
Location: Kolkata, India, on the way to a departmental store
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
