Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming
I was shouted at by two men going past me in a white van as I was walking on the pavement.
– Anonymous
Location: The Green, Twickenham, London
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
Tunisia Live interviews women in the streets of downtown Tunis about sexual harassment in public spaces (English subtitles).
I am African, but my skin tone is very light. Men here are inclined to harass these type of women (light-skinned) because we are seen as being “more attractive, and more desirable” than a dark-skinned woman (grossly untrue, but it’s how our society is framed to think). Even though it happens to me often, March 4th was way worse than the other days.
I had gone to shop for groceries, and I had to walk for about 20 minutes. I got harassed by at least 15 different men for that 20-minute walk! The harassment ranged from cat calls, my arms being stroked by strangers (very disgusting, I must say), men asking other men to stare at me… Others yelled across the streets asking if I could get pregnant. For those that felt really irked by me ignoring them, insults such as “stupid whore” were hurled at me. It was so mortifying, frustrating, and plain disgusting.
– KWA
Location: Nairobi, Kenya, along the streets
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.
From the streets to the theatre
The London-based, all woman theatre company Dollseye Theatre have been working with street harassment researcher Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray and masculinities researcher Dr. Maria Garner to translate key themes from their work for the stage. Might Never Happen, directed by Amy Ewbank, is a piece written by the company, to explore various aspects and perspectives of street harassment from the ridiculous to the terrifying.
The first performances will be in London, at the Kings Head Theatre in Angel in May 2016 as an extension of International Anti-Street Harassment Week. A post-performance Q&A will be held on the 2nd of May and the 9th of May, featuring speakers from the Women’s Equality Party, Hollaback London, Purple Drum, Rape Crisis and more.
For Dates and to book tickets please see The King’s Head Website here.
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
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea.