My and my friend were walking to the mall. We walked by an old man who smiled at us,whistled at us and said, “Damn, girls. You’re gonna need a bodyguard walking around here looking so hot.”

Nobody tried to help us, we felt threatened and we had to call our parents to come pick us because we didn’t feel safe. We were horrified. We were 14. Since then I rarely leave the house by myself except to go to school. (it’s been almost a year now)

Optional: Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?

I think educating people about this issue at a young age, and have a harsher punishments for street harassers.

– Sophia

Location: Portland, Oregon

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

I was on vacation and in a mall in Salt Lake City with my family. I don’t remember exactly how old I was, probably around 12. A guy who was much older than me (teens or early 20s? It’s hard to say now looking back; all I knew at the time was that he was much older than me) saw me in a store and began staring at me in a creepy way. I believe he was with a friend or two. Then he proceeded to follow me –remember, I was with my family, including my father who is an extremely tall and intimidating man –around the mall for an uncomfortably long time, all the while giving me the same creepy stare, like a wolf who wanted to devour a smaller, weaker animal.

I still remember his face and my growing panic. It was terrifying because even the fact that I was with my mother, father and sister didn’t deter him from stalking me. He eventually lost interest, but I’ll never forget my terror. I had no idea what was going on. I was pre-pubescent and still looked very much like a child; at that time, I did not, in any way, think of myself as being attractive to anyone of the opposite sex, so I did not understand what was happening.

– Anonymous

This post is part of a back-to-school series to highlight the young age that street harassment begins. The stories in this series were shared as part of our recent survey on street harassment and age and they entail people’s first experience of street harassment. The full list of stories is available here.

As you read the stories, note that among respondents, 70% said they were 13 years old or younger at the time of their first experience. 24% said they were 14 to 16 years old. The remaining 6% were older than 16.

Need support?
Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

I was with my mom at a drugstore getting my thyroid prescription and someone my mom knew from somewhere approached us and made uncomfortable comments as he engaged us in conversation. At about the same time, a construction worker wolf-whistled at me as I walked to the bus stop to go to school.

– Anonymous

This post is part of a back-to-school series to highlight the young age that street harassment begins. The stories in this series were shared as part of our recent survey on street harassment and age and they entail people’s first experience of street harassment. The full list of stories is available here.

As you read the stories, note that among respondents, 70% said they were 13 years old or younger at the time of their first experience. 24% said they were 14 to 16 years old. The remaining 6% were older than 16.

Need support?
Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

I was in middle school, walking home from school, and a bunch of men in a work truck drove by and stuck their heads out of the windows and cat called me. I was 12.

– Anonymous

This post is part of a back-to-school series to highlight the young age that street harassment begins. The stories in this series were shared as part of our recent survey on street harassment and age and they entail people’s first experience of street harassment. The full list of stories is available here.

As you read the stories, note that among respondents, 70% said they were 13 years old or younger at the time of their first experience. 24% said they were 14 to 16 years old. The remaining 6% were older than 16.

Need support?
Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

My friend and I were walking home from the pool in our neighborhood. A man drove by and stared at us. Then he drove by again. We kept seeing him slowly drive by us on every block until we ran like hell.

– Anonymous

This post is part of a back-to-school series to highlight the young age that street harassment begins. The stories in this series were shared as part of our recent survey on street harassment and age and they entail people’s first experience of street harassment. The full list of stories is available here.

As you read the stories, note that among respondents, 70% said they were 13 years old or younger at the time of their first experience. 24% said they were 14 to 16 years old. The remaining 6% were older than 16.

Need support?
Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910