Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming
“In this lovingly handmade, animated video for “Hey Girl,” Seattle feminist pop-punkers Tacocat take aim at all the cat-callers, sidewalk winkers, and leering loudmouths that make city life a veritable minefield of misogynist misbehavior. “Hey Girl” is the second music video from NVM, the new full-length from Tacocat, out now on Hardly Art records.”
I am 16 years old and I am from the United Kingdom. I get beeped at pretty much everyday. I get wolf whistled at. I got beeped at last week and whistled at this week. I have had ‘get your tits out’ shouted at me from guys in their cars. I had a man say to me when I was in my school uniform ‘you’re going to be gorgeous when you’re older’. I had a creepy guy try and chat me up in Starbucks, he was standing way to close to me telling me to buy him a drink and when I looked at the staff for help they didn’t acknowledge me. I had an incident with a taxi driver who would touch my arm and hand excessively and ask me if I had facebook and did I live with my parents. A lad who used to go to my primary commented on the colour of my bra and kept asking me what I was doing that night. I have had builders stare at me. A drunk guy told me he loved me. My last encounter happened the other day, I was on my way in to town as I had a two-and-a-half hour college break until my last lesson and this man said ‘How you doing, looking nice’.
I have never said anything back, I just walk along. At the beginning, if I’m honest I found it complimentary but now it’s just humiliating and makes me feel self conscious.
– Courtenay
Location: Bolton, UK
Public harassment in grocery stores has become so common. Men seem to think this is a place they can stare at your body parts while pretending to stare at the food. I was I the PCC in Edmonds WA at 4pm today. Some 60 year old man stands in the middle of the produce isle with his hands in his pockets staring right at me. Does not even pretend to be shopping. Still stood there staring when I went to the next row. I tried to tell the produce clerk but he was an asshole. Told me I should go ask the guy what his problem is. Right. I don’t even consider this to be ignorant desperate losers any longer. It’s intimidation. They hate and intimidate women around them wherever they go.
– NB
Location: PCC, Edmonds, Washington
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Street Harassment Stories:
Share your story! You can read street harassment stories on the Web at:
Collective Action for Safe Spaces
The Hollaback Sites
Ramallah Street Watch in Palestine
Street Harassment in South Africa
Street Harassment in the News, on the Blogs:
* Teen Liberation’s Toolbox, “Stop Street Harassment Week (March 30th – April 5th, 2014)“
* The State Hornet, “Upskirting must be viewed as an issue of privacy and sexual harassment“
* WBEZ, “Art series in Chicago takes on street harassment of women“
* New York Times, “Addressing Harassment on the Streets and Subways of New York City“
* Ms. Magazine, “Celebrate International Anti-Street Harassment Week“
*Philly.com, “Tired of catcalls? Now you can publicly shame your harasser“
* Philadelphia Magazine, “Ad Campaign Targets ‘Street Harassment’ of Women“
* Athens News, “Take Back the Night just one important event in full week“
* Newsworks.org, “Local activists call for an end to street harassment“
* Huffington Post, “Street Harassment: Getting the Message“
* Republica, “Campaigning for safer public spaces for women“
* Styleite, “What What Happens When a Female Journalist Catcalls Men“
* DNAInfo, “Giant Inflatable ‘Street-Harassment Cat’ Erected to Combat Catcalls“
Announcements:
New:
* View photos of Anti-Street Harassment Week actions that took place!
10 Tweets from the Week:
* @JulieSLalonde: Wow! Weather is finally nice so I guess that’s some douchebag Bat Signal for “Be Creepy.”
* @Besito86: Why do so many men who choose not to harass women and girls in the street say nothing about it when they see it happening? #endSHnyc
* @DiennaHoward: Man said “Ooh, sexy” at me. I said “Don’t talk to me like that” then said “SHOW SOME RESPECT!” 3x. He walked away. Good! #streetharassment
* @pupypupypupy: The #streetharassment in this city is enough to make me want to live at the bottom of the ocean
* @ViaMarsala18: To the truck driver who honked/waved at me while I was struggling through last half mile of my run: go f*ck yourself. #streetharassment
* @cupcakelindsay: A guy just whistled at me outside my apt. I’m sweaty and in my work uniform… Also I’m not a dog. #streetharassment
* @cleveil1: Oh haaay, #streetharassment, didn’t miss you this winter.
*@babylolitadoll: Some boy sarcastically shouted hey to me and carrigan and when we said shutup, he relied with ‘ugly bitches’ #streetharassment
* @providedbyhaley: Catcalls are disgusting, disrespectful, and POINTLESS. I hope the people that make them get rocks thrown at their cars.
* @FeministFists: In Worcester for 5 min, already street harassed. “Oh, beautiful…” while he bikes by. “Oh, creepy…” was my response. #EndSH
I was walking down the street in Accra, Ghana, with a group of about ten other American’s, both males and females. It was about 9 pm, but we had made this walk about a hundred times over the course of about a year, so I wasn’t concerned for our safety. We stopped at a traffic light, waiting to cross the street, when a man grabbed my butt and asked if I “liked to be licked”. I was so horrified and humiliated, I couldn’t respond. None of my friends had seen. I just stood there and pretended like nothing had happened. Eventually, we were able to cross the street, away from that man.
– Shae B.
Location: Accra, Ghana