Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“He would try all this on another girl or woman”

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It all happened recently when I was coming back from my coaching classes. It was a little bit dark and a a guy 25 or 30 years old started following me.

I was scared and after some time he started to sing a vulgar song and started passing sexual comments about me. I was really scared and obsessed. Then a few meters away from my house, he suddenly came in front of me and said, “I want to have sex with you. When r u free????”

And I was like roasted from up to down. I grabbed his collar took him in front of the whole market away from my house and then i said, “Do you want to have sex with me, no problem, do whatever you want to do, you are free to do.”

And then I saw many teen girls like me and they came in front of me and asked what happened. I started crying and told everything that happened. Then after some seconds, I stopped crying and I said to him, “You don’t have a mother or sister in your home, do you? You don’t have respect or manners for how to talk to a girl?”

And in front of the whole crowd I said, “These type of guys are a true figure of demons.” And I slapped him and took him to the police and came back…

If i ignore it and kept all this in silence then next time he would try all this on another girl or woman!!!!

– Piyusha

Location: 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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Video: #JuventudSinAcoso: Nuestra generación puede erradicar el acoso callejero

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Slavery used to be considered normal. Now it’s not. Women not having the right to vote used to be normal. Now it’s not. Street harassment used to be normal…. oh wait, it still is! But we can stop that. With our generation we can change things.

This is the powerful message conveyed in a new PSA by OCAC Chile. English subtitles and sign language interpretation are available. #JuventudSinAcoso

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Documentary: Black Girls R Us

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Kayla Parker is a sophomore acting major attending Howard University in Washington, D.C. She created a “documentary style video detailing five black girls’ experiences with street harassment.”

She shared with me what motivated her to undertake this project:

Being from the South I had heard stories about street harassment, but I was never able to connect with the women telling these stories. It was only after I graduated high school and moved to Washington, D.C. for college that I began to understand just how severe this issue is.

I was shocked each time I witnessed women being harassed for simply walking down the street. The first time I experienced street harassment for myself, I encountered many emotions: fear, anger, guilt, sadness. This cycle of emotions became more and more familiar to me as I traveled the city to see theatre shows, meet up with friends, or even to get groceries.

I started losing count of the many times I thought my life could be in danger as I went through my routine of city living. I could not allow myself to sit idly as many women are injured, sometimes even killed as a result of street harassment.

To the women who have been forced to deal with this know that you are strong and it is never, ever your fault.

So true!! Thank you, Kayla, for channeling your feelings into this important project! #BlackGirlsRUs

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“One of them thought I was playing a game and started to follow me”

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I was walking down the street when I passed a group of guys that had to be at least 20 years older than me. One of them called out, “Damn mami!” Then one of his friends chimed in, “Nice ass baby!”

I was unbelievably embarrassed and started to walk faster. One of them thought I was playing a game and started to follow me. I got to my apartment building, typed in the code to get in quickly, and slammed the door behind me so he couldn’t come with me.

– Anonymous

Location: Downtown Detroit, Michigan

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 vanished in a flash of a second”

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I’m 16 years old. Yesterday when I was with my mum, a man walked past by me and his hand touched my back. When my mum asked me, “Did he touch you?” I said yes and we both ran after him…. he was so quick that he vanished in a flash of a second… the surrounding people didn’t even bothered 2 help in catching that person.

– TR

Location: Mumbai, 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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