Recently, I’ve read a few street harassment stories in which women recount their first experiences of street harassment at ages as young as 11. Their harassers? Older teenagers or adult men. Based on the hundreds of stories I’ve read and heard over the years, I know this is pretty typical and pretty alarming.
I hope that if more people realized the predatory nature of so much street harassment — adult men preying on teenagers (and younger) — there would be much more outcry and efforts to try to stop it.
To that end, since our latest national studies (2018, 2019) show that a public space is the most frequent site for sexual harassment, I have created an informal survey for YOU to take about your first street harassment experience. How old were you? How old was your harasser? How did it affect you?
I anticipate using the results in blog posts, articles, factsheets and talks going forward. Anyone, anywhere is welcome to complete this short survey. Your answers will be anonymous, but you can choose to leave your email address at the end if you’d like to be contacted with the results.
THANK YOU!
Related, check out this op-ed at Essence penned by Girls For Gender Equity‘s CEO and our ally Joanne N. Smith, “#MeToo Isn’t Just for Adults.”
And if you missed it, be sure to check out (and share) our latest national study from April 30! Full Report | Two-Page Executive Summary | Press Release | Survey Questions | Street Harassment Factsheet
Eve S says
I used to live in Boston, MA. Last summer I was walking down the street and some man that couldn’t be less than 30 years old yelled “Smile for me girlie! What, no response? Respect your f****** elders.” At me from across the street. Not even an hour later, another man (≈40) came up to me on my way out of a library and said “Oh darling, the things i would do to you”. At the time, i had just turned 13. I was wearing jeans and an oversized band shirt.