The other night me and my girlfriend went to a party. It was in a suburb in the north of Paris, where I would never normally go as I know it can be dangerous, especially for women. We got out of the metro at about 8 p.m. and walked to the party which was a fifteen minute walk. It was typical of the area with groups of men hanging around in the streets. It made me very uneasy and I was then nervous about leaving the party and getting to the next party we had to get to further inside Paris.

When we went to leave at about 11 p.m. we asked the girl who lived there and she assured us she’d never had any problems walking to the station. We got almost to the station (criss-crossing the street to avoid groups of men) when a car with two young guys in it slowed down and drove next to us slowly. I ignored them, and my girlfriend did what she normally does in harassment situations and made crazy-looking faces at them.

Eventually I looked at them. They were making comments about us and pretending to masturbate. I told them they were ugly, and they said, “like you” and laughed. I knew that it could get serious, and that no one would help us if it did, so I pulled out my phone and pointed it right at the guys face and took a picture. He stopped laughing and sped off very quickly. We were worried they would be waiting for us somewhere so we ran across the road and into a little grocery store.

A man in there asked what had happened and we told him two nasty guys had harassed us. He then went into an aggressive and angry speech about how women always pretend to be harassed to get attention and how it is all lies. My girlfriend argued back talking about women getting raped and he was getting in her face and aggressive and saying things like women ask for it etc, and that we were lesbians so who would rape us anyway? Eventually he left and we walked really quickly down into the metro and onto the train. Not a fun way to start our night out.

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

After having very dangerous and serious harassment experiences in Paris, this is the first time I have ever taken out my phone and taken a picture of the harasser. It obviously wouldn’t work in every circumstance but it scared this guy and made him leave us alone quickly. I felt very empowered and would definitely use this approach again to be left alone.

– GracieParis

Location: Paris suburbs

15 minute walk to the train station before work this morning. Today – so far so good. Just about to cross the last road to my train station….cue car full of young guys shouting and leering out of the windows at me.

Right in front of the shops I have to pass every day to catch my train. Total humiliation.

I wondered if I’d get punished by taking my suit jacket off before these losers think it’s summer.

– SJJ

Location: Treforest Train Station, Wales, UK

I remember one day I was walking up the streets in the town of Rincon, Puerto Rico. There was a surfing contest going on and everybody had bathing suits as attire. I remember some cars stopped by to make inappropriate comments… I felt so uncomfortable. C’mon guys haven’t you seen a girl in a bathing suit?… I know I just kept walking and looked down the road…

– Anonymous

Location: Puerto Rico

Behold: an old man with legs spread open, gun cocked tight, touching himself over his pants and eyes staring apathetically at me. My long skirt and turtleneck concealed breasts was not masking this man’s perverted imagination.

I looked at him with no emotion, because I knew if I would show my feathers being ruffled by his public lewdness, it would only make him harder. Completely sickened, I took a picture of him straightforwardly so he would know. I was at a local coffee shop working on pieces for my upcoming art show that was going to be displayed in the upcoming months.

I ended up drawing the man, exactly how he was sitting, with his penis erupting through his pants and displayed it at that coffee shop two months later with the following description:

This thing, this salacious slithering snake, with legs spread out, physically cocking at me. Licking my turtleneck, concealed breasts with eyes hiding behind glasses blurred from a glare that came from no where and a mustache magnifying its lusting actions. No such thing shall trespass my civil liberty to sit in a coffee shop, and must I add it was the middle of winter, I was dressed in sweaters from head to toe! What shame, people would have put me to blame if it would have been July. This sexual harassing man, please be aware of him and don’t hesitate to call upon his lustful endeavors; like a child he will runaway, if done in a mother to son reprimand.

It felt so good to display this sadistic behavior that threatened me in that same place. However, revenge was the sweetest when I received a picture of the public lewder sitting in front of the painting of himself one morning, from an employer.

Caution: Don’t public lewd or the next one will be you.

– Greta

Location: Normal, IL