One night I sat in downtown, Honolulu (Hawaii), waiting for my ride. Class had just finished at about 9 P.M., a stranger walks up to me and sits beside me, asks what I’m doing, then stares for awhile after I answer him. It got a bit awkward so I asked him a few questions, attempting small talk, he took awhile to answer my questions, often times asked me to repeat it then answer. As he sat on my right side, I asked his name and where he was from. What he was doing in town at night, holding a fire knife.

He hadn’t answered me, he continued to stare at me, and started jerking his head in a certain direction. I asked if he was okay and he replied, “Roll with me to the beach”. I said politely said, “No thanks, I’m waiting for my ride”. He then asked to move to the other side of me, I told him it was fine, not thinking anything of it.

I tried to talk to him some more but he wasn’t replying much at all. He then asked me once again, what I was doing and proclaimed for me to walk with him to the beach. So I asked, “What for? I told you I’m waiting for my ride”. He then replied, “So we can have sex on the beach and have a good time talking about it on the way”. I was shocked that he’d come directly with such a statement.

I then told him, “No! I don’t know what kind of girl you take me for but you’re mistaken”! I awkwardly stared away from him, then looking down at my bag in silence and noticed he had pulled down his zipper and was holding his appendage in his hand. I looked up and away to my right side fast, and what he was doing and for him to out it away. He told me to look down at it and I refused. I was very scared, not knowing what would happen next if I tried to run away, being that there was no one around. I ignored him for the next few minutes while he asked questions and then my ride pulled up. I haven’t spoken about it to anyone ’til now.

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

Making anywhere a safer place seems almost impossible because no matter the time or place, there are still sick people rooming around and in some circumstances, people aren’t walking around at night or certain times of the day.

– Anonymous

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea

I was whistled at twice in five minutes, before I made it to the first crosswalk near my house. Then, a man driving a semi honked and pointed at me. This happens every single time I leave my house, but THIS time, I was able to read the business name and phone number on the truck. I have written a letter to send to the business, and I am considering contacting the Better Business Bureau, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and/or any other resource that seems relevant.

I started being harassed as a pedestrian the summer I turned nine. A driver honked, catcalled, and threw a penny that hit me. Now I am 39 and I keep thinking I will eventually grow old enough to fall off the radar. Being honked at, whistled at, shouted at, followed, groped, and grabbed makes me angry, shaken up, and stressed out. This is the first time I haven’t felt completely helpless. Half the time, it seems the ʺhonkerʺ is driving a work vehicle, so maybe writing to the employers is a way to put negative pressure on the practice.

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

Police need to take sexual harassment seriously.  Employers need to crack down on it when their employees do it on the job.  It would also really help if some celebrities such as action film stars and professional athletes spoke up about it.

– Anonymous

Location: Van Nuys, CA

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea

 

As a senior now living in L.A I’ve experienced my fair share of street harassment. I was a freshman the first time I was harassed. I remember it very clearly. I was walking home from school alone when I saw two men leaning against a wall smoking. They looked about twenty, and as I walked by they blew puffs of smoke in my face making me cough. I felt disgusted; defiled. They started leering at me, saying things like, “Ooh yeah I like that ass,” and, “Hey Babe where you going?” I never looked them in the eyes; I just kept walking. I put a wide birth between myself and them, wanting to never ever experience street harassment again. However, my high school years would bring many many more experiences like this, and I’d learn to deal with it.

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

I would suggest you tell them off if you feel safe. You can even flip them off if they are honking or shouting things at you out of their car.

– Anonymous

Location: California

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea

I get harassed a lot where I work. Two of my customers have gone so far as stalking. Well I finally picked up some courage. A customer of mine had the nerve to approach my register and tell me I was beautiful and then he asked what time I got off because he wanted to kiss me. I looked that jerk in the face and told him I don’t care. He hasn’t talked to me for a few days now.

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

Look them in the eyes and tell them you don’t care and that you don’t have to give in to them just cause they want it. I’ve noticed it also works when you call them out on what “they really want,” when they try and word it a different way.

– KG

Location: Bradenton, Florida

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea

 

I was at the train station and had a weird feeling that I might be followed. Since there were so many people going around I didn’t think I was right.

So, I got to the escalator with my bag and suddenly a man started moaning right into my ear and got really close from behind, repeating, “Oh yeah, f**k me,baby!” over and over!

I then looked at him with disgust and at the people around me (who just looked away), took my bag, pushed that disgusting person away and ran up to the platform.

Looking back, I wish I had said or yelled something so that others would’ve been ‘forced’ to step in. But in that moment, I was just shocked, disgusted and felt threatened so I couldn’t really think straight.

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

Raising awareness amongst boys/men, not just women! A lot of the media make it seem like it’s only a problem for women and girls.

– Anonymous

Location: Austria/Vienna/Westbahnhof

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea