Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“I don’t know how to handle this.”

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I live in an underdeveloped country working at a local NGO. I’ve had to deal with men staring and saying things for a long while but now I work between two construction sites and things have become really difficult. The men put their English to good use by shouting things like, “What a beautiful body!” or “Good pussy!” at me.

I complained to my boss, who is a local with a masters in gender studies, and she was very nice and supportive and tried to call the construction supervisor about it, but the harassment still continues and it makes me nervous about walking home every day. I can come home and commiserate with my room mate but it’s very difficult, especially given the poverty and the political/cultural situation here.

I know it’s never right to take abuse, but I struggle with the part of me that knows this is partially a product of the society I live in that’s been so oppressed for so long – that I could leave the country at any time but they cannot.

It’s not just me.. we hear them from the office catcalling women all day. As an international, however, I am singled out for abuse because they “know” I don’t have brothers or husbands handy. If I’m walking down the street with a man, this never happens. I don’t know how to handle this.

– Anonymous

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“I felt confident…until those clowns in the car catcalled”

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I got honked at today as i walked up the road on my way to lunch. i was wearing a summer dress and felt confident in myself until those clowns in the car catcalled out of the window and stared at me. i made me feel embarrassed and intimidated.

– Clarice

Location: Porthcawl, South Wales, UK

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“If women on the street said I look nice, it’d make my day”

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I LOVE this cartoon by @barrydeutsch! (Update: He’s made the cartoon available for purchase. I just bought it as a postcard and print)

It speaks to one of the arguments* I make when men tell me they’ve been whistled at and don’t mind it: there is a difference in the sheer volume of harassment that men and women face.

For example, a running friend of mine has said before that he’s been whistled at a few times over the course of his 15+ year running career.  Hmm. In college, I was harassed more than that in a single hour when I would go running (no exaggeration), including whistling, honking, kissing noises, and sexually explicit comments. I have no idea how many times across my 14 year running career I’ve faced harassment. At least hundreds.

That volume of harassment is annoying in addition to being demeaning and perhaps threatening. It’s hard to get some men to understand that and so I’m grateful for this cartoon.

(*Factors like gender inequality, threat of rape, and victim blaming, all issues I address in chapter two of my book, also make men’s harassment of women  unique compared with the harassment men may face.)

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Two jerkoffs in Lebanon

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Two cases of exhibitionism in one weekend:

Went to Tyr in the South for the weekend with friends. Went to look at some of the greco-roman ruins. As we are walking around the pillars and down to the beach, we hear a strange hissing noise behind us: “ksss…ksss”, as if someone were calling to a cat or a dog. Having lived in NYC for over a decade I’m familiar with all manner of cat-calling and attention-getting-noises, and having noticed a teenager out of the corner of my eye earlier (who I thought belonged to a Lebanese family walking around the ruins, but who was apparently by himself), I did not turn around, but said to my (female and blonde, like me) friend: “Hey, don’t look now, but some little shit is making weird noises behind us.”

He passed us, and walked down towards the beach. I started walking back up in the opposite direction. He kept hissing and my friend turned around and started screaming, “Ewwwww, he’s jerking off! Oh my god, how disgusting!” Apparenty the little shit had not only pulled down his pants to show off his business but started masturbating right then and there. Idiot.

Then, a few hours later, in the early afternoon (read: broad daylight), back in Beirut from our weekend trip in our rental cars, I get dropped off by our friends at the corner and walk up the 100 metres to our front door. Tabaris in Achrafieh is a pretty “posh” neighborhood in a rather nice part of town, mind you. Before I get to the front door, I take my keys out of my bag. The street is deserted; it is Sunday, and this is the Christian part of town, and the shops are closed.

There is a guy sitting on a scooter right in front of the entrance, with his helmet on and everything. I don’t think he can see me as I am coming up the street behind him, but I do think it’s odd that he’s just sitting there on his bike. As I get closer and am about to unlock the front door, I hear that he is muttering to himself and see that he is… jerking off. Another one? Seriously? What is with these people???

Can’t believe this and am shocked (and scared) so I take out my phone and try to call a friend whilst walking away from the door. Not sure where to go at this point, as all the public places — shops, hair salons etc — are closed, so I head back towards the door, and just then I see him speed away. Phew. My hands are shaking and sweaty and I have a hard time opening the front door and I am wondering if he’s just going around the block to come back and harass me, or gone for good. I am utterly disgusted and disturbed.

– i.d.

Location: Beirut, Lebanon

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“As soon as I passed, he said, ‘Want some dick?'”

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I was walking to my office when I passed a man sitting on the side of a pedestrian bridge. He seemed to be talking to himself. Then as soon as I passed, he said, “Want some dick?” I ignored him and kept walking, then he got louder: “Come on!” The further I walked, the less I heard, but he didn’t stop.

I filed a police report.

– Anonymous

Location: 390 North Ave NW, Atlanta, GA

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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