Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“He grabbed my head and tried to whisper ‘You’re beautiful’ in my ear”

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I was taking public transportation and an obviously drunk guy came on with two swollen eyes and dried blood stains by one eye. Not trying to make this a race thing but i’m a black female and with some black men I know I cant even make eye contact or it will start. Not that all men harass and not that black men don’t harass others because they do but I have noticed they are worse with us because they think no one is going to intervene and they can get away with it.

Anyways so, I tried not to make any eye contact cause I just knew he was gonna say something to me. He came right to my seat, grabbed my head and tried to whisper “You’re beautiful” in my ear. Then he sat behind me. I told him there was no need to ever touch me and I don’t like people touching me and he said he did that cause he thought I had head phones on.

I go back to ignoring him and then he tells me he got beat up in the war just now and that’s why his eyes are swollen (lmao!). He keeps talking more nonsense and I tell him I have a boyfriend i’m gonna marry just to keep him off my back but of course he said he didn’t care and he starts pulling out his credit card saying he’ll take me wherever I want to go. He keeps trying to touch my shoulder and i’m like STOP TOUCHING ME but he wont and then he starts saying i’m not even his type and i’m a mess really loud and i’m like “oh I’M the mess”.

Meanwhile the driver is doing NOTHING to stop it. There was a girl that looked shocked and I could tell she wanted to say something but didn’t want to get involved so she wouldn’t get harassed as well. Finally he got off at the stop but I was totally humiliated and violated.

I’m 29 years old and have been dealing with it since I was about 15. Some men just see women as second class citizens and they have a right to say and do anything to us and get away with it. I have tried everything to get them to stop and nothing works.

– Anonymous

Location: Southern Illinois, near St. Louis, MO

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“It is not o.k. to follow women or to not take no for an answer”

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I was recently almost at my apartment building in NYC when a man who was hanging outside the deli at the corner said, “Hey, you’re really gorgeous.”

I ignored him of course and walked the half a block to my front door when I realized he was right behind me. He cornered me at my front door and said, “I’m sorry to follow you but I want to know if you want to continue this conversation.”

I said, “No, I can’t” which was stupid, I guess, because he thought “I can’t” meant, “I want to but I’m busy.”

And he said, “You chose your words carefully see you said I can’t…” I then got very forceful and told him I did not want to talk to him and he needed to leave me alone and walk away.

He became very belligerent and started ranting about how I was “retarded” and didn’t know how things work in this neighborhood because I must be from “Ohio or Seattle” or something.

I’m not, but I didn’t tell him I just kept telling him to leave and stop harassing me. I had my key in the first lock of the door but I was afraid that if I tried to go into the building he would try to push in behind me. I figured I was probably safer on the street where there were a lot of people walking around. He finally backed up enough for me to go inside. He was ranting and cursing and obviously very drunk as he was not only a complete jerk but making absolutely no sense at all.

I was pretty shaken up and extremely angry when I got inside. It is not o.k. to follow women or to not take no for an answer.

– Anonymous

Location: East Village, New York City

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Street harassment in El Salvador & Costa Rica

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Hi! i’m half Costa Rican, half Salvadorean, i’m surprised that this happens in so many places! and how often!

In both countries El Salvador and Costa Rica you’ll listen the same story, we all women are tired of this situation!!!! no matter if we wear a garbage bag (those big black ones) the only fact of being a girl it’s enough for them to say something to us!!!! this is disgusting!!! and i can’t stand it. This makes me angry when i go walking on the streets, i’m on a bus or even driving my car. It’s sad to feel this way every time you leave your house.

– Andrea Muñoz

Location: El Salvador/Costa Rica

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So many men think they’re entitled to women’s attention

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I was walking to work today (which, ironically, is working at a nonprofit devoted to ending domestic violence), and on the way there, got hissed and whistled at. I brushed this off, didn’t think about it really anymore. Then on my way home, 2 men stared at me and one leered and said, “Miss, you dropped something.”

I turned around quickly without bending over, as I thought it was a trick. There was clearly nothing on the sidewalk, so I said, “Nope, nothing of mine,” and continued walking. Another man behind me did nothing to help. At this point I was very angry and almost starting to cry.

I reached the next corner and 2 different men said I should cross the street now, as no cars were coming. Then one held his hand up and said, “I can carry you across the street.” to which I said “No thank you, I’m fine.” They then purposefully walked behind me for the next 2 blocks shouting, “Sure are fine” and, “Shake that” and hootin and hollerin.

– Anonymous

Location: Franklin Avenue and Nicolette Avenue, Minneapolis

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Street harasser sent home from work

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I work as a dog walker in NYC, and one afternoon I was walking one of my dogs and waiting at the corner of an intersection for a light to change. As I stood there, a truck for a very well-known delivery company drove by. The driver of the truck turned to ogle me (as he drove) and then made a disgusting, lewd kissing face / noise at me. I was horrified.

Fortunately, though he’d driven too fast for me to catch his license plate number, I recorded the exact time and location that the incident took place. That night, I e-mailed the company and notified them of the incident.

The company responded within 2 – 3 hours (not during normal business hours, either… I got an e-mail at 11 p.m.!). The person who wrote me was incredibly apologetic and informed me that he personally would find out who the driver was and attend to the situation himself. He gave me his direct number and asked if I could give a physical description of the driver, which I did.

A day later he e-mailed me again to let me know that the driver had been removed from the day’s schedule and sent home, and would have to attend meetings with an HR representative and the Director of Operations. It was great to feel like I could actually take action against street harassment and have my concerns taken seriously.

– Anonymous

Location: New York City, New York

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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