I have many stories of harassment. I live in St. Louis and ride the bus and walk a lot. I now no longer feel safe to do so and am trying to move.
The other day, I walked to a nearby gas station to get some snacks, and a man behind me said in a low voice, “I can get you more candy.” I ignored him and checked out. As I was walking back, he drove his car with tinted windows by me and tried to say something to me. I ignored him. I usually have my phone, but didn’t that day. I felt very vulnerable. He drove away, then as I rounded the corner, he pulled up beside me to cut me off. I walked to the other side of the street saying to myself, “Oh no you don’t” and he followed me home. I acted like I didn’t live there and kept on walking until he drove away. Scary stuff.
There are countless times I am in the bus and a man asks, “Do you need a boyfriend?” I instantly feel angry. One time, as a man sat next to me and asked that, I looked him straight in the eye and said no and told him that I think men need to respect women out here on the streets. He looked so serious, said he could tell I was serious and that he had never heard a woman say that before. I told him maybe he could go tell other men.
The thing that makes me feel so uncomfortable is when you walk and a man says hi while staring at your crotch or chest. I have had men try to talk to me at the bus stop, the whole time, staring at my crotch. I ignored it, but next time, want to head on say, “Stop staring at my crotch.”
I just enrolled in a kickboxing/ self defense class. I am a thin woman and have a sensitive and kind personality. I feel like living with all of this harassment for over 10 years is turning me into a person I am not really because as I walk, I pretend I am talking on the phone, avoid eye contact, and look above people. It has affected my relationships with other males in that I find it hard to trust them. This is why I know I need to move out of this area because it has taken a toll on my mental health to constantly be ‘hard’, hypervigilant, and on the defense.
– J
Location: St Louis, MO- Arsenal and Gravois, Kingshighway and Delmar, Chippewa and Oregon
Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.
Zoe Biel, Minnesota, USA 
Alys was born and raised in France, lived for a time in Denmark and has lived in Spain for the past seven years. She likes researching, analyzing and writing about Women’s Rights, gender bias, and intersectionalism with a special focus on sexual violence, rape, rape culture, the impact of street harassment and how the media deals with these issues. She is currently working on a new project focused on how some media participate in the revictimization of victims. The objective will be to offer an alternative by rewriting the incriminated articles. She follows the work and activities of various organisations, especially 
lexandra is a freelance writer and recent graduate of Heidelberg University in Germany, where she earned a BA in South Asian Studies and English Literature. During her time at university, Alexandra started her research on the role of women’s activism in post-colonial India. Inspired by this work, she’s committed to advancing the conversation around gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment across all societies, starting with her new home in Canada. Having moved across the pond to live and work in Montreal, she now focuses on refreshing her French skills while volunteering her time to various community-outreach programs. Here, she also hopes to pursue a degree in visual journalism, so she can tell her stories in colour. Alexandra drinks a lot of coffee, listens to a lot of podcasts and loves the great outdoors. You can follow her on twitter 
Suchita was raised in western India by loving and supportive parents who helped her and her sister to grow into strong, independent and career-oriented women. She’s a registered general practitioner in India and is currently preparing to obtain medical residency in the United States. She is passionate about women’s rights especially because she has had firsthand experiences of harassment and sexist behavior at public spaces, school and work. She believes that in order for women to enjoy equal rights and opportunities, the society needs to recognize that it’s a problem first. In her spare time, Suchita loves playing scrabble, hiking in woods and baking vegan double chocolate chip cookies.
Sequoya is a Native American and Italian woman from Chicago who fell in love with New Orleans. She’s currently a Sociology Major at Loyola University New Orleans and supports her higher education habit by slinging drinks to the masses. She aspires to attain a PhD and write a best seller. She currently operates a 
Nyasha is the public awareness coordinator at the Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the main goal is counselling and sheltering survivors of domestic abuse. In 2013 she facilitated a book titled; “Rising Up, Moving On: Women writing our lives,’ written by survivors of domestic violence and again facilitated a book written by young adolescent South African girls in June 2016 titled “We are those girls: writing our stories.” Both books are available to download for free from the website 
UNmuted Productions is a small multi-disciplinary production company founded by Ness Lyons and April Hughes in March 2016 to make punchy work about legal and social issues affecting women and young people. it’s debut short film, ‘I Smile Politely’, about street harassment, is being screened in competition at the prestigious international Encounters Short Film & Animation Festival on the 23rd September 2016. Ness wrote ‘I Smile Politely’, which is performed by April, after her young daughter experienced street harassment. Ness and April wish to encourage women and girls to speak up about all forms of sexual harassment and discrimination. Follow them on Twitter: @
Ness Lyons is a playwright, filmmaker and spoken word poet. She runs UNmuted Productions, is a member of Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab and is currently developing a script with an award-winning production company. Ness’s plays have been performed at The Criterion Theatre and various Off-West End theatres, and her spoken word poetry’s been performed at The Southbank Centre as part of Women of the World Festival and at a cross-arts event hosted by filmmakers Shorts on Tap and the charity English PEN. Ness will be performing her new spoken word piece at the enat a cros. Her writing’s been published on The Pool website and as part of an online anthology of monologues. A former employment & discrimination lawyer, Ness also works as a freelance Legal Consultant and Storyline Creator for the LLB Legal Practice degree at City Law School, University of London. Follow her work at: 
April Hughes studied at East 15 School for Acting. TV Credits include 3 series of Dixi for Kindle Entertainment and CBBC. Theatre credits include ‘Girls Like That’ by Synergy Theatre and ‘Freak’ by Anna Jordan, for which April won The Stage Award for Acting Excellence. April is currently playing Sandra in the West End’s ‘The Play That goes Wrong’. Follow her on Twitter: @