I was 13 and my mom put me in modeling school because of my height. I was wearing a skirt and practicing walking in heels at the mall when a man approached me and said, “Your long legs would look so good on the back of my bike,” and my mom flipped out. I didn’t realize until later that what he said was totally inappropriate and because I was wearing something I didn’t usually wear (prepping for modeling school), it made me feel like it was my fault.

– 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 petting a horse and two boys very much older than me came along and were making aggressive sexual jokes and running hardcore sexual energy at me. They had me blocked in.

During the same summer, a very drunk man at one of my father’s parties came out of the backyard and talked sexual to me as I was walking around on the street in front of my dad’s house. It scared me.

– 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

When I was 16 and had just learned to drive, a man masturbated at me at a traffic light. I was totally grossed out. I went home and told my mother who told me it was illegal and that we could call the police. That had not occurred to me.

– 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