Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“You girl, wanna play?”

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At the age of 12 (I’m now 14), I was walking down the street wearing a short dress, and a grown old man came to me, and he told me: “You girl, wanna play?”

And I just stared to run and run. I came home, but I didn’t said anything because I didn’t think it was bad enough.

I think that we need a radical change. Places can be safer for women if we’re informed about these sexism and feminism stuff. And I will start to speak out, because this is a big problem.

– Jessica Atencia

Location: Colombia

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See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

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“Tell them when they insult you.”

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Being a student studying at an art school in downtown San Francisco, I always dread slow tourists as I try to get to class. I overtook a slow-walking tourists without even touching his shoulders or having contact with him. I literally just passed on the left side and kept fast walking. He started shouting insults to me and I was shocked as I never did anything to get such reaction. Now I get such insulting reactions almost once a week.

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

Fight back. Tell them when they insult you.

– Alek Picardal

Location: Union Square area, San Francisco, CA

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

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“He yelled out ‘SEX PLEASE'”

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I was walking home in broad daylight at approximately 5 p.m. and was 100m from my home when I heard wolf whistling in my direction. I turned and looked at the man who stopped. He then kept looking at me and yelled out, ‘SEX PLEASE’.

I stopped walking and stared at him, before saying in a loud voice, “EXCUSE ME?”

He just smiled and kept looking. I decided it was better to leave the situation than remain and so walked the rest of the way home, but double checked to make sure he wasn’t following me just to be safe. There were plenty of people around but no one said anything!

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

Help others in the same situation, don’t be a bystander!

– Liz

Location: South Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

 

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“I have my own battleground right here”

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Welp, today’s “incident” stands apart in a crowded field of hostile encounters with men.

This one shook me to the core and forced me to surrender what little faith I had in the male species within a patriarchal society. At this point, you are all guilty until proven otherwise, until the day comes when I can enjoy a pastry or beverage in public without being forced to feel fear congealing in my bones or be made to cower in silence as my world is shrunk down to a suffocating zero.

F*ck men, f*ck every single man that has ever felt entitled to a woman’s time, her body or her life. I am so f*cking sick of these ritual humiliations. Of split-second decision making that has my life hanging in the balance. Do I engage or ignore? How quickly could this escalate? Does he have a gun? Are there witnesses? Will they come to my aid? AND f*ck having to ask another man to act like my minder or keeper and escort me to my car, like I had to do again today. (But thank you, whoever you were.)

Right now I have a friend visiting Turkey, a country where, due to political instability, bombings happen with enough frequency that it’s a place one might want to avoid. Yet, statistically, he is safer there, in a country on the brink of war, than I am here, in my OWN F*CKING CITY!

Thanks to the privilege of being a woman, I don’t have to fly anywhere, I have my own battleground right here.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

Keep raising awareness, keep the conversation going. Tackle the problem at its root: get men and boys to hold themselves accountable. So long as men continue to be the chief purveyors of street harassment, victim-blaming won’t solve the problem. It’s a ‘men’s problem,” not a “women’s problem.”

– Michelle Ryder

Location: Seattle, WA

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

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”Stop staring at me that way. That’s inappropriate.”

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I’m an eighteen year old girl from India. Once, I went to meet my tutor. I was driving my scooter, and I noticed an ATM guard staring at me in a very vulgar and inappropriate manner. At first I felt very intimidated and afraid, but soon I gathered courage. I approached him and said, ”Stop staring at me that way. That’s inappropriate.”

I even threatened to hit him. He felt quite guilty about what he did.

Optional: What’s one way you think we can make public places safer for everyone?

I think girls should somehow gather courage to stand up for themselves. If they feel something is not acceptable, they must tell, just like I did. It’s a bit risky, but also worthwhile. Girls should also learn some martial arts like Kung fu or karate so that they are able to defend themselves.

– S.A.

Location: It just took place on the street, more precisely, at the ATM, India

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.

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