Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“No one should be made to feel uncomfortable like that”

By

I was walking in Egham on my way to Waitrose and two men where standing in the place where I was heading. As I approached them one of them said, “Oooo look at her, she’s amazing,” but in a sarcastic way and started laughing. As I finished my shopping, I walked past them again because they were on route and clearly waiting to harass me again and others. The same man said, “Isn’t she sexy pwoarr” again in a sarcastic manner.

I felt extremely uncomfortable and fairly upset over what happened and I wish I had stood up for myself in the moment. I’m not sure if it’s sexual harassment although the comments were aimed at my appearance and no one should be made to feel uncomfortable like that, ever.

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

Educate people on what harassment is, create awareness etc

– IAT

Location: Egham Surrey near Waitrose near a pub, UK

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

Share

“Never be ashamed or afraid.”

By

Here in Pakistan, your clothing doesn’t make a difference at all. If the harasser wants to touch, comment or just “accidentally” collide your shoulder with his, he will do it.

I have learned that you should never ever let anybody go with out having the consequences. But when it’s for the very first time, you get a little shaky.. And I experienced it again today after quite a while.

At first I gave him the benefit of doubt, but to the point where the limit was crossed. I made a scene. I started shouting at the top of my lungs, and that person didn’t dare to look me in the eye. I was scared a little myself but didn’t show it, and most of all don’t expect people to help you.

You’re enough for yourself and that is that. Just take stand for your self once and afterwords it’s gonna be fine. Never be ashamed or afraid. You rule!

– Aliza Khan

Location: Pakistan

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

Share

“I’m going to continue to speak up “

By

I live and work in Queen Anne, Seattle. Currently Seattle is exploding with construction, and I pass by MANY construction sites on my morning walk to work.

On one particular day, I crossed paths with a construction worker before he entered his office building. He suggestively said, “Hello”. (You know the tone. It wasn’t a polite “hello” to a passerby. I hadn’t even made eye contact with him. He just saw it as an opportunity to interject himself into the attention of a young, small girl, wearing a dress and walking to work alone.)

I had to do something about it. I stopped walking, asked him to repeat himself (which he did, even clarifying the creepy way in which he said “hello”), and I began to explain to him why what he just did wasn’t okay. Then, since we were conveniently right outside his office, I asked for a manager to be sent down.

Also conveniently, other construction workers were filing into the office around this time, so I asked several of them to send someone down (hoping to up my chances of one of them actually doing it). To my pleasant surprise, a project manager came outside with the man who’d harassed me. I explained again what happened and why it wasn’t okay, ending with the request that they think about their words and why they’re speaking them to women they don’t know on the street.

Then I was offered a half-hearted apology and walked away. Very doubtful that the manager reprimanded or talked to the employee further, I also sent an email to the Seattle branch president of this construction company, asking if their employees are trained on street harassment and explaining once more why this is an important issue.

I haven’t heard anything back, and doubt I will, but at least I’m trying? And I’m going to continue to speak up when things like this happens, unless I feel it would put me in danger of bodily harm- in which case, my plan is to get away and then send the cops to the location.

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

1. Ask them to repeat themselves, hopefully embarrassing them and making them think twice.
2. Stop and demand a moment of their attention, since they’ve entitled them self to yours. Explain that you are a human being who deserves respect, not an object to be commented on.
3. Ask if they have a wife, mother, daughter, or niece and ask how they’d feel if someone did that to one of them. If they have a wife, also ask what she might think if she knew her husband was harassing women on the street.

– BW

Location: Near the corner of Republican and 2nd Ave W in Seattle outside the Lease Crutcher Lewis construction office

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

Share

Will D.C. Become the First U.S. City to have a Taskforce on Street Harassment?

By

After the District of Columbia (D.C.) city council hearing on street harassment in December, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau introduced legislation this week to form a D.C. Task Force on Street Harassment – and five council members have already signed on! This means D.C. is poised to be the first city in the USA to have such a taskforce.
 
Kudos to our partners Collective Action for Safe Spaces for working hard to make this possible. And we’re excited that when/if the taskforce is formed, Stop Street Harassment will be part of it!
Via Washington City Paper:
“The bill states the task force would be spearheaded by the D.C. Office on Human Rights and made up of representatives from several other city agencies as well as from community-based organizations. These members would prepare a report within a year on the possible collection of data on the prevalence of street harassment, strategies to address it in “high-risk areas,” bystander intervention training, and potential statutory changes. Still, Nadeau said the goal of the report is not to lock harassers up.“We need to create this change while being sensitive to the fact that young people, members of the LGBTQ community, people from communities of color, and people from low-income communities experience more frequent and severe harassment,” she said in a statement. “Any solution to the problem shouldn’t be an excuse to disproportionately target those same communities through criminalization.”

Share

“It makes me want to disappear”

By

Ever since I began to enter puberty, men in NYC have been saying disgusting things to me on the street. Some examples: nice thighs, nice camel toe, damn girl, oh god, I’d hit that. It makes me feel unsafe, it makes me want to indulge my anorexic behaviors, it makes me want to disappear.

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

For every woman to ask a man that catcalls her: “how would you feel if someone said that to your daughter?”

– Leah

Location: NYC

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

Share