I am no stranger to harassment but my latest harassment experience took place today when I was in Sainbury’s supermarket (Coventry). At about 3.30 p.m., I had stopped in the shampoo aisle to look at the products when a man suddenly barked at me from behind. When I say barked, I mean exactly like a dog. It was extremely loud and I instantly went into shock as I felt very threatened as he was very near to me. He was with a female accomplice and they both sniggered and looked back at me as they walked away.

I took a moment to compose myself then followed after them. The man had disappeared but the girl was standing alone in line at the self serve tills. I immediately spoke to one of the shop assistants and told her I needed to contact security because the ‘lady’ in the queue and her partner had just harassed me completey unprovoked and in a threatening way.

The assistant contacted the security guard and it appeared they were familiar with the man who had harassed me, apparently he was a well known nuisance. The most disappointing thing, and perhaps worse than the harassment itself, was that the Sainsbury’s staff barely acknowledged me after I reported the event and they certainly didn’t do anything about it. The security guard simply went back to his post by the door and wandered around in a trance and the shop assistant simply walked away.

Surely a duty manager should have been contacted to take a statement, or somebody should have stopped the girl who was right there, or maybe the security team should have been contacted to see if the man was still in the store so he could be stopped from harassing anyone else. And maybe at the bottom of the list, I should have been given an apology!

– Cordelia Reardon

Location: Sainsbury’s, 330 Fletchamstead Hwy, Coventry, CV4 9BJ

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I was leaving work Friday afternoon and walking past Union Station. We’ve all seen this kind of man before – you can spot him from a mile off. He was saying something to every single woman who passed him, obviously staring for a long time after they’d passed, then spotting the next mark. As I walked near him, his eyes left another woman’s body and started on mine, feet first and up. As his eyes met mine and he opened his mouth, I said, loudly, “STOP harassing women.” He looked truly perplexed, but it silenced him for the moment.

– Anonymous

Location: Union Station, Washington DC

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I was fourteen and I took the bus to high school because I wasn’t old enough to drive and my parents left early in the morning for work. One morning I was reading a book at my bus stop and I heard a yell and a honk–when I looked up a bright blue car was going by. At the time, I assumed he was honking at another car or someone on the street, so I went back to waiting for the bus and reading.

I was pretty engrossed in my book a few moments later when he came back and called to my through his open window (he had pulled up to the bus stop). He had pushed his shorts down and was masturbating while laughing at my expression. He then drove off.

He probably shrugged it off and continued with his day, but I was a fourteen-year-old who looked twelve and it’s always bothered me more than the few other times I’ve been harassed.

– Anonymous

Location: San Jose, California

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I grew up in Morocco, and street harassment has been part of my daily life since I was about ten. I have always felt a lot of resent, frustration, and fear but never thought I could do something about it.My mother suffered from it as well, and one of the most absurd episodes I recall is that time when my brothers and I were children, playing at the beach, and a perfect stranger sent his sister to propose to my mother, adding that he didn’t mind she already had children!

They know no limits…

Five years ago, I moved to Lyon, France, with my boyfriend. I am not a child anymore, I am now a woman, and every single day, I get comments, whispers, strange sounds, dirty looks and I do not deserve them. I am never flattered, it never makes me smile. I usually feel beautiful and confident when I leave my house, but a few minutes outside are sufficient to destroy my mood.

Today I rebelled against two men, just a few minutes apart, and I felt so relieved, I thought it had to be shared. Men are stronger then us, but we have a sharp tongue. You know all these times you’ve had the right reply on the tip of your tongue, hesitated a few seconds and decided it was too late to shove their disgusting comments back down their throats ? Never let it happen again.

An angry look, a loud ” no!” or just a hiss, every reaction helps. They will never understand if we don’t express ourselves.

I am so tired of feeling like a monkey behind bars, or a piece of meat at the butchers…. From now on, I will say NO to these comments, whenever possible (safety first !)

– LH

Location: Rue Paul Bert, 69003 Lyon, FRANCE

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