Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Not an “ugly trout”

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I had just finished work in a charity shop, it was a Saturday and i hadn’t had a really good day. it was raining, i was tired and my hair had got messy through rushing about so i felt miserable and paranoid about my appearance (i have ocd – obsessive compulsive disorder and one of my obsessions is my hair).

As i was walking past the supermarket to get to the bus stop, two young men looked at me and one yelled, “‘Oi, u fucking fat bitch!”

i looked at him and felt anger bubbling up and told him to fuck off. he continued to shout more abuse at me calling me an ugly trout. i quickly got on my bus and had to try very hard not to cry.

by the way, im not fat, im just a bit curvy. im a tall girl, a size 16. i get told quite often how attractive i am but it seems that some people will call women fat if they were just an ounce overweight! pathetic.

– Clarice

Location: Porthcawl, South Wales

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Kissing gropers in East Jerusalem

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A group of five young men approached me on a walkway near a busy road. Other pedestrians were around, although not close to where we were. They started talking to me, surrounding me as I started walking away, towards the road. Two of them linked their arms with mine, put their other hands on my breasts and kissed me on each cheek. I threw them off and made it to the safety of a family on the corner.

–  Anonymous

Location: East Jerusalem, Israel

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Street groper in Leeds

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I walked right the way across town back from my friends house, through 3 neighbourhoods where I’ve had trouble before. I was tense the whole way, expecting trouble. I got within 20 metres of my house and was starting to relax, amazed that I hadn’t been harrassed. Then a group of 4 men in their late teens/early 20s came the other way down the pavement. I stepped to the inside of the pavement to pass them and instinctively felt unsafe because I could be penned in against the railings rather than have access to the road.

As I passed them, one of the men just lightly put his hand out and brushed my breast – subtle but absolutely intentional. I was expecting homophobic aggression rather than any kind of sexual harassment so was totally taken by surprise. I was a few steps beyond them before I turned round… I don’t think I even said anything. But the one guy kept looking back really quick, I stared him out but was too shocked and surprised to shout at him.

This was in broad daylight on a busy street, next to a park that was hosting a family festival. I spent the rest of the day trying not to let it bother me, because I already have a lot of stress in my life from homophobic abuse and the threat of physical violence. But I feel a small surge of shame every time I think about it, even though I know it’s not my fault.

– K

Location: next to Banstead Park, Harehills, Leeds (north England)

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Harassers fall flat on their noses

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There’s a cremation ground here in New Delhi which I pass by often. Outside it there’s a huge sign that says, “Do one good act a day.” I just did mine like 30 minutes ago and I thought I should write it here.

I was driving my car, and right now is has been raining cats and dogs for the past hour in the city. I nudged two guys on a bike and made them fall flat on their nose and injure themselves nicely.

This is my good act for today.

There was this girl sitting on the back of a bike with some guy in the front. She was dressed in something like linen pants maybe, and the torrential rain made the pants see through. These other two guys on a bike were constantly ogling at her and I could make out she was very uncomfortable. There was a lot of traffic and no one could do anything about it at that time.

I was sort of pissed off at the whole situation, and when I saw a little break in the traffic, I nudged my car forward and nosed it at an angle that it was right behind the two guys on the bike. I sped forward, banged the back of their bike hard, made sure they fell nicely, and then I raced away. I could see the girl and the boy race away too, and as they passed me I could see the smile on the girl’s face!

So now I have a huge scratch in the right side of my bumper, and it’s a new car, but what the hell, it was worth it seeing the ecstatic look on the poor girl’s face.

Tonight, I’ll sleep alright. I’ve done my good deed for the day!

– Tbg

Location: South Delhi, New Delhi, India

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“I give him my best death glare”

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I was on my way through a busy bus station on the way to my stop, lost in my own little world and minding my own business.

As I walked past a row of seats I heard a loud ‘all right, darling,’ which startled me and made me look round. An older man in grubby looking clothes, seated alone, is leering back at me, and repeats himself just in case I didn’t hear him the first time. As usual I’m too dumbfounded to retort, so I give him my best death glare and hurry on.

I sit down at my stop, and while waiting for my bus eye the man down the other side of the station warily. He chooses to stare lingeringly at young girls walking past him, but ignores the older women. I can’t remember whether he saw me watching him or not, but suddenly he is sat five or so people away from me on my row of seats. He switches places twice, and I get a bit nervous. I stand up to let someone else sit down, and turn back to see him watching me through the crowd in front of him. I am freaked out by this point, but am simultaneously preparing myself to make a fuss if he comes too close. I choose to sit somewhere different so he can’t see me, and he at last loses interest and gets on a bus. I wish I had thought to take his picture, for as far as I know he could have been a nuisance to women at the station before.

– Hannah

Location: Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

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