I was returning to the parking lot where I parked my car and I saw a man standing right near my car. When I got closer, he told me he was homeless and asked if I could give him some money for food, and I gave him some money. He thanked me, but then it gradually turned into sexual harassment.

After he thanked me, he hugged me, which at first made me feel slightly uncomfortable but he prolonged the hug so long I started to get more and more uncomfortable. He said I was beautiful in a way that made me a little uncomfortable and I started saying over and over that I needed to go. I managed to get in my car, but as I was getting in he made a kissing face and said something about how he wanted to kiss me, and at that point I started to feel scared. He stayed so close to the car that I was worried I wouldn’t be able to drive away without hitting him. I managed to leave in my car but felt icky and uncomfortable my whole drive home.

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

Teach men in particular about what sexual harassment is, why it’s wrong, and what it does to women. Teach them how to intervene in these situations and create situations where men start talking with each other about sexual harassment. Make it more socially unacceptable to harass women than to talk about being harassed.

– CD

Location: Parking lot near H Mart, corner of Essex Street and Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

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

I got off of the bus on the way home. As soon as the bus left my stop I was waiting to cross the street, but a black car went flying by. The guy on the passenger side had his window rolled down and he yelled, ʺF***ng Whore!ʺ I was shocked it took me an entire 2 minutes to unfreeze my body. I refused to cry until I got home.

– Anonymous

Location: State College/PA/Centre

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

Whenever I go shopping in a supermarket, or a mall, I find myself being followed by crude, loud people. In fact it seems that everybody – especially hard-faced women – are giving me evil stares, coughing at me etc. This evil harassment makes my life intolerable. It is bullying and happens even if I am with my young children.

– Anonymous

Location: England

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

I was taking a walk and a group of teenage guys rolled down their window and made a comment about my ʺbooty.ʺ

I flipped them off as they drove away.

– Anonymous

Location: O’Fallon, MO, USA. In my neighborhood

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

I was walking to a club in Amsterdam with a group of six girls and a guy. It was approximately 2 a.m. I am 18 years old but I look younger, and I was wearing no make-up, a knee-length skirt and sneakers. My friend stopped in a shop to get a sandwich and I walked a few meters away from the group. A man passed by me, (he looked twenty-something) and told me something like ʺBaby babyʺ. I was pretty nervous and I answered insulting him, I basically told him ʺfuck youʺ loudly while walking back to my group of girlfriends.

I thought that was the end of it but the man followed me, looking angry, and started shouting at me. He said I was rude, that he only said ʺhelloʺ so I had no right to insult him, that it is normal and so on. I tried to explain that I was scared of him and he looked even more insulted and angry. All my friends told me to shut up, that answering was stupid.

One of my friends called the guy who was in the shop and only when the man saw there was a boy in our group he lowered his voice. My friends tried to bring up excuses like the fact that I was nervous and I ended up saying, ʺI’m sorry I didn’t mean itʺ to the gross man. He then told me I was lucky I was a girl because he doesn’t hit girls (how chivalrous!!!) and that if I were a boy he would have punched me. Then he told me ʺbitchʺ and walked away.

I feel so powerless because there is nothing I could have done against him, I did not want to put myself in danger. It is so unfair that men can say whatever they want to me and I have to keep quiet and ignore them. I also feel stupid for having insulted him, which was not a proper reaction.

– ZS

Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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