Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Terrible predator, good bystander, useless police

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[Story may be triggering]

I was walking to the subway on the way to class (college) at 930 am last week. On a tuesday. An older gentleman, maybe in his mid-50’s, appeared to be on the phone, but started getting closer to me commenting about my breasts and my face saying into the phone “this is what i like right here, these are the kinds of girls i want to f*ck right here. this ones’ gonna get it”.

i started walking faster. i was shocked that the street was full of people but he would say such disgusting things. he followed me, saying similar things for two more blocks. I didn’t want him to follow me into the subway station, because i’d be trapped with him down there. So i finally worked up the nerve and turned around and yelled, “Can you just leave me alone??? you’re scaring me and you’re disgusting!”.

at about the same time i started screaming, a street sweeper pulled over and the driver jumped out and ran up to the pervert. the pervert started screaming about how he was going to rape me, leaned forward, and pulled my shirt down almost tearing it off. at this point, the street sweeper grabbed him in a head lock and a grocery owner ran outside saying he had called 9-11.

i was late for class, and the police refused to take a report saying nothing ‘serious’ had happened. i spent the day in class shaking. took an exam almost crying. it was awful. thank god for the man who intervened while everyone stood by staring.

– anonymous

Location: Brooklyn, NY

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Harassment often keeps woman in Spain from leaving her house

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Before starting to tell my stories, I’d like to say something. I’m Spanish. I say this in case I make any mistakes when writing. I usually read feminist websites or blogs often and I found out about this site. Thank you very much for your amazing work and to the people that share their stories, I’d like to tell them that I’m extremely sorry for them and let them know that they are not alone and I hope everything gets better in the future.

I don’t feel comfortable saying this, but I’ve been touched by strangers. I have experienced all kind of harassment (from light to heavy). I once was harassed even when I was 11/12 years old. I once was stalked by an old stranger in the street. Someone took a picture of me topless in a beach. (My brother laught at several of this things. I’ve realised how he is or was and I keep little contact with him. It’s painful.)

I don’t know if this is considered street harassment or plain humiliation. Many years ago I traveled to Liverpool alone. I felt so alone. I was having a hard time. A bunch of strangers came to me in the street (I was waiting for the traffic lights to go green) and threw me a bag of garbage while laughing hysterically. I went to the nearest phone box and I really had a hard time stopping crying and going back to the residence where I lived while talking to my family because it seemed like I could never stop.

Lately I’m really depressed. I almost never leave the house, but sometimes I want to go out, take a walk, clear my mind. Almost 80% of the time I’m street harassed. I insult them or show them the finger but I still feel powerless.

I wish people would talk more about this topic and raise awareness in my country too.

The following is a message for sexists, homophobes, and people who do this in general.

YOU’RE SWINE!!! I WISH YOU’D DIE!!!

EVERY REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE WILL BE SISTEMATICALLY DELETED AND IGNORED.

P.S.: It’s possible that I’m forgetting other stories. Unfortunately there have been a lot.

– Anonymous

Location: Mostly in Spain

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“This is the proper response.”

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Walking down the street, an older guy standing on the corner held out a publication toward me.

“Wanna buy one, sweetie?”

“No thanks, and don’t call me ‘sweetie.'” My standard response.

He surprised me by answering sincerely, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

Thank you!

See, creepy guys who get angry when I tell you not to call me “angel,” “honey,” and “sweetheart?” This is the proper response.

– Cate Burlington

Location: Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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Speak up – you can save other people

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[Editor’s note: The following was posted in a comment on another story and I think it deserves its own post]

Today I took the subway in the middle of the afternoon to go run some errands.  I was inside of the train at Yonge and Eglinton station when a man standing beside me touched my upper part and whispered something in my ear. I got scared and I pushed him off…and moved towards the people. The subway was stopped for few minutes at that station when it happened.

The man got off the subway and disappeared. I thought nothing of it… Just that maybe he wanted to flirt, but then I saw him bug another lady on the platform.  That is when I decided to report him to the Authorities because I thought that he might escalate his intentions and do something even worse to someone else or someone weaker like a kid.  Or attack in the middle of the night. Who knows!! This happened in the middle of the afternoon!! With lots of people around… who know what he is capable of doing when there is no one around.

I am very satisfied with how police and the TTC Authorities handle the harassment. They made me feel confident that I made the right decision.  I actually feel happy to live in a place like Toronto. I feel safe because Police are really looking out for you….

So I encourage everyone who might be in a similar situation to SPEAK UP!!! You don’t lose anything and can save other people!

– TS

Location: Toronto subway

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“She’s got the short hair, she’s probably a fucking dyke.”

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No matter what day of the week, it is likely you will run into a number of drunken peers in my college town, and harassment isn’t uncommon. My friend and I are a couple of insomniacs, so the town at night no longer scares me like it might have a few years ago when I left home for the first time. I have heard the advice given to us womenfolk…you know, about staying off the streets at night, walking with buddies, blah blah blah and I’ve even been scolded by a complete stranger who witnessed one of my late night strolls. I didn’t take harassment that seriously because it only came to me in the form of whistles and compliments, both subtle and belligerent, but I absorbed them as misguided kindness or something of the like.

THEN…I cut my hair. I found feminism, saw the links between patriarchy and standards of female beauty and worth, and had my talented roomie cut it off one night after my boyfriend told me to “settle down.” Initial responses were amazing. Everyone loved it! Except my boyfriend and father, of course….but that didn’t matter. I felt liberated.

So it was around 1 a.m. on Franklin Street in this popular college town and I was walking into the neighboring town, Carrboro, to stay the night with a friend. I was walking down the street in a cardigan and pajama pants when a group of young, white, “fratty” types crossed the street and began walking towards me. As soon as they saw me they began to loudly and clumsily interrogate me. “Why ya wearing green pants, green pants girl? Look, she’s got a purple sweater, HEY PURPLE SWEATER GIRL.” They got closer and more in my face, and never one to avoid confrontation, I turned and said, “Maybe not heckle strangers, hey?”

They didn’t like that very much, and started up again with, “Welcome to a fucking college town, YEAH there’s gonna be drunk people, GOD, you fucking weirdo.” And then another “She’s got the short hair, she’s probably a fucking dyke.”

As I moved further away, the shouts became inaudible, and I walked on, angry that there was nothing else I could do. Angry that I didn’t have the guts to turn and really embarrass them. Angry that they felt they could say things like that to my face, in public, and without consequence.

I knew that the stories my short haired female friends had always told me were not the rare experiences, the anomalies I had originally written them off as. I doubt it would have ever happened that way if I had my long hair still. This isn’t the worst thing that has ever happened to someone on the streets, for sure…but I guess my point is that it should have never happened. Those guys shouldn’t feel entitled to yell at women on the streets, drunk or no. Harassment is harassment.

– Carissa Morrison

Location: Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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