I was on the night bus in east London after a party coming home about half three. I was with my boyfriend and there were a few other people on the bus. There was one woman sitting by herself. When two men got on the bus, one clocked her straight away and made a bee line for her. He sat next to her on the empty seat while his friend sat behind them (there were loads of seats he could have chosen including the empty one by his friend).

The man struck up a conversation asking her if she was French. When she said no, he asked her if she was Spanish, then Italian and then she stopped replying and turned her face away from him while he continued to try to engage her in conversation.

I couldn’t just leave it so I said, “I don’t think she wants to talk to you, why don’t you respect the fact she’s not here for you to engage in conversation with, she’s on the bus just trying to go from A to B.”

She turned to me and gave me the most relieved, grateful smile.

He however was aghast that someone should challenge his behaviour and him and his friend both turned round and started yelling things like, “And who are you? Why are you getting involved.”

I told them to see it from a woman’s point of view, she is by her self at half three in the morning when two men surround her and she is forced to engage in conversation that this is intimidating behaviour. The man next to her carried on talking to her as she kept her face turned away as carried on ignoring him while his friend was saying, “It’s not that late, get your phone out and show me the time.”

He was also being really aggressive towards my boyfriend who was also speaking up for the woman. I had to stop him from speaking though as both men were getting aggressive in their tone towards him. I carried on however interrupting the man who was talking to the woman about respecting her personal space and she’s not his plaything on the bus to pass the time with.

When it came to our stop the man sat next to her (the main harasser) proclaimed, “Thank god.”

I again interrupted him with, “Yes, thank god for women like me who speak up for other women who must deal with sexual and street harassers like you who won’t take no for an answer.”

This actually seemed to hit a note with him, his face dropped as I said those words and he really seemed like he took it in and felt slightly guilty.

I really from the bottom of my heart hope I’ve opened his eyes.

– Nadine

Location: London, UK

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem.

Driving with the windows down, I pulled up beside a pickup truck at a stop light. The two men inside the truck began whistling at me and laughing. I turned off my radio, turned to them and said, “You know, it’s really offensive when men whistle at a woman like she’s an animal. I don’t appreciate that. What you’re doing is called street harassment and it is unacceptable.”

The driver said, “I’m sorry ma’am. I’ll stop tonight.”

In my experience, his response was very atypical yet awesome! Usually when I talk back to street harassers they’re either shocked into silence or tell me to f*ck off. It never discourages me from speaking my mind, though. I have become fiercely protective of my sense of physical and emotional security, so when a stranger gets in my emotional or physical space I fight back with words.

I have dozens of stories like this. Stories of men commenting on my body parts while I’m jogging. Stories of men making sexual comments to me simply because I was there and a woman. A story about a man who started unzipping his pants while walking toward me outside the library one afternoon. Men who’ve grabbed my butt on crowded streets and subways. On and on and on. I used to be to afraid to say anything, but not anymore.

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

Street harassment can occur very quickly and instantly makes me feel fearful and angry, so it helps to be prepared to respond. I’ve found it helpful to practice certain phrases (“I am a human being, not an object for your pleasure”, “My body is none of your business”, “What you’re doing is called street harassment and it is unacceptable”, etc…), that way I’m more likely to speak up and respond to someone who is harassing me.

I also discuss street harassment with my male friends and try to educate them on what women experience on a daily basis, asking them to become allies.

– Emily Harris

Location: Sarasota, FL

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem.

I was traveling on a Liverpool Train heading back to university after a weekend back home, so I was a little nervous traveling on my own as I had my laptop bag and fear theft.

At one stop a group of men in their mid-20s (who’d obviously been drinking and had a night of festivities) got on and decided to sit in my seat section and talk to me. I feared that they would harass me but after some stern words from me they apologised and we actually had a nice conversation.

At the next stop, instead of leaving the station one of the workers stepped into my carriage and asked if I wanted them to leave. It turned out another passenger had seen the interaction and had reported them.

This gives me hope as often people ignore harassment happening around them, but this unknown passenger – instead of just leaving and forgetting about me – chose to protect me. So even though I had distilled the situation it still meant a lot that people were willing to step in.

And by seeing that people around judged their behaviour as inappropriate and possibly dangerous, the men apoligised again, and hopefully learnt a lesson about approaching young women on their own.

– Gina-ofthenorth

Location: Liverpool, UK