Archives for January 2019

In Tijuana there are a lot of street vendors at traffic light stops. A lot of them are very talented and fun. I live in Playas de Tijuana and here there is a Haitian man in particular who is not talented, not fun and not nice at all. He barks at me every time I have to pass by him on the street as a pedestrian. He constantly is making lewd comments and undressing me with his eyes as I eagerly wait for the light to turn green so I cross and get away from him trying to sell whatever disgusting processed stale food he has to cars at the light. It’s really bad with him in particular. Most of the street vendors outside of hassling you for money are pretty decent people. However, this man in particular at the traffic light in the first main intersecting by Taconazdo in Playas de Tijuana is using his street vendor role as a cover to harass women everyday.
Be aware of him. He is very crude and cruel.

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

I have been ignoring it like millions of other women. At times when it gets really bad I yell back and demand respect. This still doesn’t change anything but sometimes I’m sick of predators having their way with women in public.

– Anonymous

Location: Tijuana

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.

It was 9th Jan 2019. I was heading towards my college. I usually avail public transport and it was 15 minutes walk from bus stop to my college. I was walking on a foot path the road was deserted than suddenly a car stop near by me. The windows of car went down there was a guy who seemed decent and educated to me. He asked me, “Drop hona hai?”

I replied, “No Thank you.”

And than he asked me, “Do you know the address of this place?” He points towards the road.

I replied, “Which place?”

He replied in a very low tone, “This place.”

I wanted to him to be clear, so I came near the window of his car and than he showed me his penis and said, “This.”

When I looked I lost my senses. I ran away because I got so sacred and a lot of thoughts came into my mind. What if he pulled me into his car? What if would rape me? The road was empty at that time.

I seriously thought he must be honest and genuinely asking me about an address. That incident shatters me. It breaks my confidence level.

– Anonymous

Location: 7th Avenue, Islamabad, Pakistan

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.

It was my junior year in high school, and I was in my car, window down, about one block away from my private Catholic school, where a casual “welcome dance” was taking place. I was wearing all red, including red lipstick, because that’s what juniors had to wear, and due to the amount of kids walking along the sidewalks in the area towards the campus, it was very obvious that I was an underage student. I was playing the song “take on me” from my car window to embarrass my friends when I entered the parking lot, and I was excited. Then it happened. A man, clearly over 18 (I would argue late 20s), pulls up next to me in his car. He rolls down his window and says, “Hey there sexy, aren’t you something to look at.”

I was uncomfortable, and genuinely afraid when I heard this. I avoided eye contact and stared straight ahead, silently begging the light to turn green. He then continued, despite seeing my obvious discomfort, saying, “You know, I love that red lipstick of yours…” and proceeded to tell me in explicit detail where exactly he wanted my lipstick to be.

I was disturbed, afraid, and horrified. I was underage, and had very little experience with boys in general, so It hurt even more. I started to roll up my window, he grew angry, telling me, “I know you want it,” followed by yelling profanities such as “sl*t, c*nt, and b*tch.”

Police were around me, as they were headed to the dance as well for security, and they didn’t notice or, if they did, they did not care. When I arrived to the dance, I took off my lipstick, crying, and blamed myself. I was wearing was a T-shirt and red lipstick, I was underage, I was in the safety of my own vehicle. How did this happen?

I blamed myself, when this man, who thought it socially acceptable to say these things to me, was the one at fault. I hoped I would never experience something like this again, but unfortunately I’ve dealt with harassment multiple times since then. We need change, it needs to stop.

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

Long term, we need to change the thought that women are at fault for street harassment, and end rape culture. To do this, although difficult, we could try to push for laws against street harassment.

– Anonymous

Location: California

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.

Got on the bus to head home from work. There was a guy sitting up toward the front who said hi to me and he looked at me in a way that made me uneasy. I decided to sit in the back and try to listen to music like usual.

A couple minutes later, I see the same guy walk toward the back and sit down in the seat in front of mine. I’ve got my headphones in, yet he starts talking to me, trying to ask me things like what’s my name and where am I getting off. I didn’t give him the info but he kept persisting and I told him I wasn’t going to tell him where I’m going and didn’t like that he followed me to the back of the bus.

At this time I was also texting my friend, telling them what was happening. Then I changed seats. As I was talking to my friend, I kept noticing the creepy dude was still looking at me and trying to talk to me. He kept pulling the cord but would stay on once he realized I wasn’t getting off.

I decided to get off at a stop way past my usual one and when I got closer to the stop, I told the bus driver that I thought the guy was going to follow me. Turned around and creepy guy was standing RIGHT behind me, claiming he was “just trying to make sure I got home safe.”

I told him several times I would be fine and had never asked for his “help.”

He proceeded to follow me all the way to a restaurant that I headed to in order to get away from him, yelling “just go home! I just wanna make sure you’re safe!!”

Thankfully I knew people at the restaurant and one of the managers got the creepy guy to leave, and a friend and their roommate gave me a ride home.

– Anonymous

Location: St. Louis, MO, US

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.

Walking from my neighbourhood to the gym, twice along the way I was verbally harassed by men. One yelled, “You’re ugly. UGLY,” as he rode his bike past me. A further 10 minutes on, a drunk/high man said, “You’ve got a hot body. Your head’s farked.”

Funny, as it is on one of the first days I decided to be proud of myself as a woman, not afraid, not keeping my presence small to protect myself.

– BT

Location: Sydney City, Australia

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.