Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“Check out the jugs on her”

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I was cycling home alone along the canal after work yesterday and a group of about 10 male cyclists passed me in the opposite direction. The head of the group shouted, “Check out the jugs on her,” and the rest followed suit with lewd comments of their own. I felt quite angry and swore at them.p

I recounted this story to a female colleague today, and whilst she is of the opinion that they are idiots and shouldn’t have said what they said, she also stated that ‘it’s just a fact of life’, and that men get confused with women wearing lowcut tops and that some women do use their bodies to attract men, and that i just shouldn’t worry about it. I feel like this is a common response to what i felt was harrassment and intimidation. My colleague thinks it’s unlikely that they realised they were being intimidating. I think perhaps it needs spelling out.

– JS

Location: Regent’s Canal, London

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“Hey, Lucky Charms”

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Since cutting my long dreadlocks off almost a month ago, the reactions I’ve gotten from men on the street have changed. When I had the long dreads I was constantly getting unwanted sexual attention from men (“Yo, shorty! I love yo’ hair!” “Dreads, can I walk wit’ you?” “Damn, girl, I be lovin’ yo’ dreads!” “Hey, sexy!” etc.), but now with short dyed red hair I get rude attention and made fun of.

My hair was cut into a very close-cropped style, probably no more than an inch or two long. When my hair was worn like that I’ve been called “ugly,” “bald,” “nappy” and other rude comments. It’s grown a pinch to where I can put little twists in my hair, which I like.

So this morning I’m waiting at the bus stop minding my business, when an Arlington County truck full of men zipped by and the guy in the passenger seat yelled “Hey, Lucky Charms!” at me. Since it was so fast all I could do was give them the finger. I wish I could’ve gotten their license plate so I could narrow down who it was when I reported them to Arlington County, but I had to work with what I had. This was 7/13/10 at 9:35 AM. I called the County and was transferred to its “Motor Pool” line’s answering machine. I left a message and hope someone gets back to me.

I don’t get why men act like dumb asses about my hair. IT’S JUST HAIR! When it was long I was treated like a sexual object, and now that it’s short I get treated like a joke. I just want to be treated with respect and for the assholes to leave me alone.

– Anonymous

Location: Clarendon Blvd. & Uhle Street, Arlington, VA

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“Mtombazana”

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While waiting to cross the road at the traffic lights intersection, two men – one in his own vehicle, the other sticking his head out of a window on a minibus proceeded to make sexualized remarks toward me as means of getting my attention. Trying my best to tune them out became increasingly difficult as the traffic lights took some time to change in order for me to cross, but I did hear one of them call me a name that made some allusion to sweet tasting food to imply that I was edible. The other sitting in a minibus continued to call me “mtombazana” (girl in Zulu) without ceasing. The comments were therefore lewd and of course very disrespectful.

– Ms. Sheeba

Location: Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa

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Stop looking up my skirt!

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It was about 90 degrees outside so I was wearing a skirt to work. I commute by bike, and was stopped, waiting for a red light to change, poised on my bike, ready to go with one foot on the ground, and the other on a pedal. A van of sorts (plumbers or construction workers…in a white unmarked van) starts taking a left turn but suddenly stop in the middle of the intersection and start CRAWLING along because the driver and two other guys in the front are hanging out of the window trying to get a peek up my skirt!

Thankfully I was wearing shorts underneath my skirt (obviously, though, if I hadn’t it would have been an invitation to try and glimpse my cooch), but that didn’t stop me from wanting to take my bike lock to their windshield.

– Briar L.

Location: Inman Square, Cambridge, MA

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“Hey, mami, come back to my apartment!”

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One morning, my family and I were walking from our resort to the beach in the town of Tamarindo  in Costa Rica. A truck full of men drove by, honking at my sister. Because my sister is Deaf, she could not hear them, and thus gave them no response. My dad or mom signed to my sister that men had just honked at her.

A few minutes later, the same truck drove by again, honking once more and, this time, yelling things in Spanish. Because I speak some Spanish, I knew what they were saying (they said things like, “Hey, mami, come back to my apartment! Let’s f*ck!”). My dad was angry and told my sister to button up her shirt all the way, even though she was dressed appropriately.

I was 13 at the time, and this incident of street harassment was once of the first I had experienced. It ruined the rest of my day, which should have been a pleasant day at the beach.

– Erica

Location: Tamarindo, Costa Rica

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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