Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“It angers me that I’ve experienced all this [harassment]”

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It was as simple as walking past my local supermarket.

Some teenage boys began shouting random things at me as I walked past them. It’s amazing how many clever retorts I’ve planned to this in my head.

But when the moment comes and I am being harassed, I’m speechless.

I’m usually a surprisingly quick witted young girl, but instead I shouted ‘piss off’ which I felt was not my finest hour. But the reply just came to me.  I shouldn’t have to think of some snappy reply.

It shouldn’t happen. I shouldn’t be blaming myself for not handling the situation well enough when the situation should never have occurred in the first place.

I’m 15 years old, so still a child. I’ve been leered at by older men and I’ve been catcalled multiple times.

It angers me that I’ve experienced all this and I’m not even an adult yet.

We must educate young boys on how to respect women of all ages so that they do understand what is and what isn’t acceptable.

– Amelia

Location: London, England

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.

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“I have made several complaints about feeling unsafe in my neighborhood “

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I complained about an abuse that happened to me and since the complaint, I have been harassed by a wolf pack of men! I have made several complaints about feeling unsafe in my neighborhood but the men in the city protect my abuser and promote this behavior in the men.

– Anonymous

Location: NJ

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.

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“This is the worst insult…”

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Mexico City, about 1992. Summer.

I was in my early forties, on business after a vacation in Oaxaca. Wearing a simple summer dress, had no conservative clothes for the unexpected trip.

Waiting to cross the street on Insurgentes, near the park downtown at the bus stop.

I’m tall, and this guy looks me up and down, trying to intimidate me. What are you looking at? He stammers, he’s right besides me “You’re beautiful.”

Well, I told him, “Tell me that. You have a wife? A mother, daughters, don’t you?” He gets angry.

The bus comes, he jumps on it. It’s full of men.

He opens the bus window and pokes out his head so all the others can hear:. Chinga tu madre!

This is the worst insult, about my mother. I was expecting it. Realize he’s afraid of my power.

I laugh as the bus takes off.

We need to have more video cameras monitoring our streets to end street harassment.

— Bárbara Renaud Gonzalez

Location:

A bus stop in downtown, Mexico City

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.

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“Catcalls…male gaze all the time!”

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Catcalls, male gaze all the time.

I feel so bad…

Men are so entitled to have the rights to look and treat women in the way they want.

Very disrespectful.

And I feel very powerless.

There should be laws against men’s inappropriate subtle unpleasant and unwanted actions or speech like catcalling and male gaze.

—  Cheryl

Location:

Hong Kong

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.

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“To make sure I wasn’t being followed”

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The first incident that truly left me shaken and uncomfortable happened when I was walking down a path in the middle of the day. A man significantly older than me stopped his bike and said, “Excuse me.”

I took the time out of my day to say hello because I assumed he wanted to ask for directions but he proceeded to ask me to come closer because he wanted to “chat” to me and “talk” to me. Immediately I said no and walked away whilst looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being followed by him or worse.

To some ignorant people this may seem to be an overreaction to someone asking for a chat but he did not want an innocent conversation and the fact that this man believed he had the right to ask a young girl to do something I was uncomfortable with is inappropriate and wrong.

– Anonymous

Location: UK

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.

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