When I was a college freshman, I lived in a communal dorm. An obnoxious group of guys would always hang out in the lobby and call out sexual slurs at me as I came and left my room. It was humiliating. I found myself trying to run past them before they noticed me, and even covering up my body so as not to draw too much attention to myself.

One day, I just couldn’t take it anymore. They whistled and said ʺdamn!ʺ really loudly. So I turned around, marched right up to them (at least eight of them) and shouted, ʺWhat do you expect to happen from this? Do you really think a girl will turn around and say ‘Oh wow that’s such a compliment, being told my ass is fine by these complete strangers. Do you want to hook up?’ Has it worked for you yet?ʺ By the look on their stunned faces, I answered for them, ʺNo, I didn’t think so. Get a life!ʺ and stormed off. The rush I felt was incomparable to anything else. I felt strong – like I could take care of myself. And while they did continue to harass other girls, they kept their eyes off of me!

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It was last September 2014 and my colleagues and I were returning from our school picnic, held in Daman (touristic place of Nepal, known as snowy village), around 10 PM. Two guys were behind us by approximately 1 km. Then there were two drunk men beating a person who was riding bicycle. They tried to rob him but after a huge injury he succeeded in escaping. We both hid at the edge of building and were afraid of facing them. We waited for the arrival of police but no one came.

– Abiral Prajapati

Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

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I was 20 and in Philadelphia for summer break. I was walking down the city street on my way to have lunch with my dad at his office around 11:30 in the morning. It was a summer day and I had a skirt and shirt on. I had gotten a couple looks so I put my cardigan on and tried to make myself look smaller. Then I noticed this group of guys kept following me down the street. It was a residential street not super busy but plenty of apartments with stoops. The men started talking to me in Spanish saying really horrible things (they didn’t know a blonde girl could speak Spanish). I felt them getting close and close and the their words started getting louder.

I suddenly saw a group of women, maybe in their 30s, talking on a stoop saying goodbye to each other. I walked up to these strangers and said loudly, “Hi, it’s SO good to see you guys sorry I’m late,ʺ and joined them on the steps away from the street and the men. They looked at me like I was crazy and said ʺhello?ʺ Once the men past us I turned to them and said, ʺI’m so sorry I just needed help. Those men were following me.ʺ

They could tell that I was scared and offered for me to sit with them for a few minutes to calm down. I later went to lunch with my dad.

I wish I didn’t have to ʺcover upʺ to avoid being bothered. I wish our society told men to just KNOCK IT OFF and have some self control instead of telling women to take responsibility.I wish I lived in a world where I didn’t need to come up with creative solutions to avoid being harassed. I wish it just didn’t happen in the first place.

– MAC

Location: Philadelphia, PA

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I was 12 years old and when I was returning back from my school, a man came straight at me and touched my breast. I was silent because I was unaware that it was harassment and at that age I was afraid of sharing and feeling shame. Similarly, when I was traveling by bus I faced the same problem. An unknown person touched my body. At that moment I couldn’t speak up or shout because I was really afraid that maybe people would say something about me or my character. It made me feel so weak and I was depressed thinking about why it happened. I was psychologically affected. Now I know the meaning of harassment so I raise my voice wherever this kind of thing happen.

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

People should be aware about the harassment that they may face in the street/ somewhere else. Due to a lack of awareness people do not know if they are facing harassment or not. We also need strict rules and regulation and the people who make people suffer should be punished.

– Sunita

Location: Bus,on the way, and chinema hall

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I bike to work in Los Angeles. It is a short ride, about two miles, and only 15 minutes. Every single time without fail I am harassed, often multiple times in one trip by different men. Cars will slow down to follow me and men will purposely step in front of my bike. Whether it’s someone commenting on my looks, asking for a smile or hello, or even a ride on my bike, I feel degraded, disgusted, and unsafe. I feel that these men are asserting power over me and that I can’t escape their comments.

I often shout back profanities and try to degrade these men for how disgusting they are, making them feel badly about themselves in the quickest way possible. Either they laugh in the satisfaction that they got a reaction or they look very angry, and I am left feeling fearful for the rest of the trip.

– Sarah

Location: Los Angeles, CA

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See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea