Archives for June 2016

I was at Target with three of my friends (all girls) and one of them wanted to get coffee from the Starbucks that was inside the Target. So the four of us went over and waited in line and it was moving pretty slowly and after a while this guy came up to us. He had a big cart and kindly asked us to let him through and as he was passing us he stopped. He stood really close to us and said, “Did you know that, in my past life, I was hanged for killing young intelligent women like you? I ran them over in a place just like this but of course it wasn’t called Target back then.” We all just stared at him. We were so creeped out. He continued, “Haha I’m just joking. Thank you pretty ladies for taking the time to let me joke with you today.”

None of us were amused or thought he was joking.

Fast-forward about 10 minutes. We had discussed creepy man and one of my friends said he reeked of alcohol and we had seen him talking to another group of people from our school (we were 14/15 at the time) and he touched one of their shoulders so when we had our drinks we got the hell out of there. We were trying to leave before he saw us again and just avoid him all together but that didn’t work so well. He abandoned his cart and followed the four of us for almost five blocks. He even took shortcuts to catch up to us and we sprinted away because we were so terrified.

We were so focused on getting away from him that we forgot about the police station right across the street that everyone said we should have gone to.

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

Educate people Educate people about how it is actually offensive and creepy, not a compliment.about how it is actually offensive and creepy, not a compliment.

– Anonymous

Location: Minneapolis, MN

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

I was 14 years old and I was heading to the swimming pool on the 4th floor of the building. It was in the winter so I wore a lot of clothes.

As I entered the elevator, three drunk men followed. During the elevator ride, one of them tried to hug me by my shoulder (it was obvious. It couldn’t have been an accident). I silently moved away, feeling absolutely disgusted. Then another one of them said in a repulsive tone, “Don’t harass such a little girl” (he said that in a way that made it sound so light and that it wasn’t a big deal at all).

The one who tried to harass me added, “Ewwwwww. I didn’t. How could I have my eyes on someone as unattractive as her.”

And then they reached their floor and left, leaving me alone in the elevator. I started crying not only because they completely ruined my evening and tried to harass me, but also because they left such a harsh comment on me. I was at a sensitive age and they action destroyed me.

Now I am 19 and the trauma is still here.

(the dialogue was originally in Chinese.)

– LL

Location: Shanghai, China

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

Last night I was walking to Hollywood and Highland mall along Hollywood’s main strip. It was getting dark, but it wasn’t pitch black. A man walking towards me started to veer in my direction and I knew he was going to try to talk to me. He kept bothering me, asking me for my name and my IG, but I refused to give him said information and kept walking. He said that he was going to keep following me and even asked me if I thought he was crazy. I just did my best to ignore him, put in my headphones, and picked up my pace.

I walked about a block and a half when I looked over my shoulder and realized he was standing at the crosswalk with me. I didn’t panic but I did tell him to stop following me. He proceeded to say,”This is Hollywood… What do you expect?”

I’ve lived in Hollywood for a year. This isn’t the first time I’ve been followed; creepy, older men hit on me almost everyday. I’ve even been proposed to. However, this is the first time I’ve felt this unsafe. I actually still catch myself looking over my shoulder. I think the hardest part is, as a minority, my negative experiences will (more likely than not) be overlooked by on-goers, activists, and police alike. Is it because they assume that I want this attention? Or does my skin colour relegate me to a lesser need for security and safety? I don’t know.

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

I think loitering laws should be a lot stricter in Hollywood. Grown men shouldn’t just be allowed to laze about on street corners for the sole purposes of passing time and “hollering” at women.

– JCH

Location: Hollywood, CA

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