Archives for March 2017

I seem to have the look that attracts street harassment because this is a problem I deal with daily. Whether I am walking on the street behind my job or just walking to the store, I am bound to hear a beep or a voice firmly yelling, “Hey baby” or “What’s going on sweetheart?”

However, just earlier this week, I was DRIVING to work. Driving…. entirely minding my own business. I then noticed a car trailing oddly behind me and eventually pull up next to me. I tried to ignore the situation, but it became unbearable when the man in the car had pulled down his window and literally started screaming multiple sexual comments at me from the drivers seat of his car as we were both traveling close to 45 MPH. I felt completely violated and couldn’t help but feel like I had been raped by someone’s eyes. To know exactly what sexual desires the random man had about me was truly horrifying and just down right wrong.

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

Educating people of the effects of street harassment is all we can do and just hope people take the information and turn it into knowledge.

– Anonymous

Location: Pompano Beach, FL

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.

When I was in high school, my best friend and I were walking home from hanging out with some friends one summer night. It was getting dark out, but we were close to home and we felt safe. As we approached an intersection, a white car drove passed us and a male voice coming from inside the car said something loud enough for us to hear. I turned around and yelled back, “I’m sorry, we don’t speak idiot!”

We heard a loud “What?!” and at the same time the car came to a stop in the middle of the street. My friend looked back, grabbed my arm and started running across the street. As we got to the other side of the street I looked back and saw the white car had turned around and parked on the side of the street we were now on. I didn’t wait to see if whoever was in the car would come out. I started running like hell and we weaved through the neighborhood until we got to her house.

– Anonymous

Location: Prospect Heights, IL

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.

I grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, where pretty much nothing exciting ever happened, but my family and I felt safe for the most part. However, even at a young age, I was worried about my safety, and the safety of my best friend in our own neighborhood. We lived down the street from each other in a condo complex so we walked to and from the bus stop together when we were in middle school. Our neighborhood was maintained by landscaping companies, and so there would often be older males walking all around the neighborhood mowing lawns, trimming hedges, etc.

I can distinctly remember one day when my friend and I were walking home, not too far from getting to her house, when one of these men and his co-worker started following us in their truck. They had said something to us but we ignored them and kept walking. When we realized they were trailing us in their car, we took off running through the buildings to get away from them. It was so long ago that I don’t remember too many details about that event, however I do remember a look of satisfied enjoyment those men had because they realized how scared and uncomfortable they made us feel.

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

I don’t think there is a simple way to make public places feel safe for everyone. What needs to happen as quickly as possible is the incorporation of healthy and safe relationships among all human beings throughout all years that students are in school. This needs to become not only education but practice by all people, it needs to become a part of our culture in entire nation and I believe it starts by all adults correcting children and teens whenever they are acting in disrespectful ways towards anyone, not just adults. I work at a high school and the things I hear, coming especially from the male students and said to the girl students quite frankly are appalling and outright degrading. Sometimes so much so that I am dumbfounded and miss my opportunity to speak up, however I am working on becoming more proactive because of how important and impacting it can be.

– Anonymous

Location: Prospect Heights, IL

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.

I was going to buy a school bag at the Githurai Market in Nairobi. I was attempting to quickly cross the busy road, but unfortunately there were too many buses alongside the road standing too close and there wasn’t enough space to go through. Then this man approached me and in Swahili told me to cross through the bus. I told him I was fine but instead he roughly held my hand and I became so scared. He wanted to drag me, I quickly struggled and when he saw people watching us he released my hand. I fled quickly looking behind watching if he was following me. I didn’t get to buy the bag that day.

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

I think if we have advocates for street safety that would really help. Also involving and making people aware that this is actually a problem and not dismiss it.

– Wamboi W

Location: Githurai, Nairobi, Kenya

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.

Today, I went downtown to get some work shoes, and was followed down the street by a hulking, paunchy, sweaty white man in a full gangster getup. He started walking alongside me, trying to talk to me. I couldn’t hear him, because I had my headphones in, but I told him, “Not interested.” He then followed me for another block, yelling. I still couldn’t fully hear him, because of my music, but I could hear incoherent yelling. I did catch a few phrases like, “You think you’re too cool for nothing, bitch!” and other classy, intelligent discourse.

Eventually, after I didn’t turn around, and tried to walk like my height was a weapon (sometimes this works), he started shouting, “Sorry! Sorry! I was rude!” I still didn’t look at him, because that half-assed apology was a little late, and I just wanted to get out of there. He ended up getting on a bus, and I kept walking, my heart pounding, because that could have easily escalated, and he was much, much bigger than me.

Nobody on the (crowded) street intervened, or checked to see if I was okay after. I ended up abandoning my errand, and just going home, feeling totally defeated.

– Rebecca

Location: Granville and W Georgia St. in Vancouver, Canada

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.