Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Participate in Research

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If you identify as female and are at least 18 years old, you can help out with this street harassment study.

“My name is Jana Menssink, I am a provisionally registered psychologist and am currently completing my second year of the Doctor of Psychology (Health) at Deakin University in Australia. As part of my research project, I am undertaking a study to examine women’s experiences of unwanted sexual behaviour in public spaces (e.g. public transport) and in private spheres (e.g. workplaces). Additionally, the survey assesses women’s psychological wellbeing (including stress, anxiety and body-image) and coping strategies.

The findings of the study will contribute to advancing research on sexual harassment, particularly in raising awareness and developing prevention strategies…

Even if women have not experienced any unwanted sexual behaviour they are still eligible to participate. Please find attached the plain language statement that explains the purpose of the study and the requirements for participants. Participants will be required to complete an online survey available through this link: http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/jana_menssink/

The study takes approximately 20-40 minutes to complete. The study is completely voluntary and anonymous, and has received ethics approval from the Deakin University – Human Research Ethics Committee (DUHREC).

If you have any further questions regarding the study, please do not hesitate to contact myself or the research supervisors Prof. Ricciardelli (03) 9244 6866 lina.ricciardelli@deakin.edu.au, or Dr. Satyen (03) 5227 8452 lata.satyen@deakin.edu.au.”

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USA: Street Harassment Doesn’t Stop in College

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Laura Voth, USA, SSH Blog Correspondent

University of Central Florida, 2014
University of Central Florida, 2014

One of the most disheartening aspects of being a woman in this world today is the unpredictability of our environments. Even in spaces that we would expect to be more respectful or tolerant than others (for example, an art gallery compared to a city street), we still encounter threatening situations.

Street harassment on college campuses certainly exists, but it manifests itself in quite a different way than in other spaces. During the day at least it involves much more staring and leering than derogatory comments, and even then it isn’t so prevalent as it is on, say, a city street.

At night, and especially on weekends, the mood shifts. Groups of college boys, already slightly drunk from pregaming, hassle any lone women they spot. Like in any situation, it doesn’t matter what the woman is wearing or how she is acting: they harass indiscriminately. They call out whistles and commentary on their target’s appearance, sometimes even following the woman until she ducks into a well-lit building. The perpetrators will slap each other on the back, hooting and laughing, proud to have asserted their dominance in the presence of their peers.

Shockingly, some of the biggest harassers at my school are actually high school students (at least, that’s the word on the street, and they certainly don’t look any older than sixteen or seventeen). They drive around campus and whistle at the college women, only to floor it when their targets notice them.

This summer, a guy has been using a pseudonym on Facebook to send friend requests to women at my college. He sends messages claiming to be a research student in the psychology department (I’m not even sure what he thought he could possibly mean by “research student”) who is performing a study that would involve a free foot massage.

A close friend of mine alerted the psychology department as well as the Dean of Student Affairs, both of whom have reported back to her saying that there is no individual by that name at the school. They are looking into the situation, but I’m still concerned. Incoming first-year students frequently use Facebook to connect to others at my college, regardless of whether they have met the people they’re “friending” in person. They have questions about everything from life at our school to specific classes and have no reason to be suspicious—and they shouldn’t have to be.

Students frequently forget about the realities of the world while we’re in our little college bubble, especially if we are living in a small, remote town. We pay through the nose not only to get an education but also to fund our safety on campus in the form of better lighting and security, but too frequently we find that those have little impact on our experiences. For women, the facts of what the world is like never really disappear.

What street harassment have you experienced in college?

Laura is an emerging adult-slash-college student studying to enter a healthcare profession. In addition to studying and writing, Laura works at her university’s women’s center where she helps design and implement programs on all things lady. 

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“He patted on both of our butts then left”

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I live in the center of the city of Chicago. I was harassed on the street earlier in the morning around 8:30 a.m. near Millennium Park. Two guys were constantly calling me and my friend when we walked pass by the park. My friend and I decided to ignored their calls completely then suddenly one guy decided to follow behind. And he patted on both of our butts then left.

The feeling was awful, helpless and angry. I was helpless because all the lookers whom may have seen his action did nothing. There were not one person stood up to help. I felt angry because there was nothing I could have done to stop him.
The idea of ignoring his call was our defense for avoiding trouble. However the trouble did not even go away under our defense but it got worst by allowing the asshole to take us as vulnerable target.

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

The reason why they exist on the street is because they think they could just easily get away for their nasty actions. I think all the people or onlookers should take action when they witness a thing like that. They can’t just let the jerks get away without any consequences.

– Anonymous

Location: Millennium Park, Chicago, IL

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 guess this is what it’s like to be a woman in this society”

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I was catcalled for the first time today. I’m 13 years old. I always thought catcalling was something that happened to other, older women, something very uncommon. But today I was proved wrong. I was walking to the checkout at the grocery store, at around 9 PM. There’s this one pair of guys, one in his 50s, one probably 25 or so. They’re walking towards me and my mom too, towards the checkout. At first I didn’t think anything of it, they were just making their way towards the checkout. But then the 50-year-old guy goes, ʺHey baby!ʺ (at this point, I really didn’t register what he said and I was sure he wasn’t talking to me.)

So the guy makes this sound like, ʺUh?ʺ like trying to get my attention or something. And that’s when I realized what was going on. Now, remember, this guy is 50 FREAKING YEARS OLD. I AM 13. I am not mature for my age by any means. My butt is flat, my boobs are almost non-existent, and it’s pretty easy to tell how young I am. And my mom is standing only a few inches away from me. But the guy keeps going. ʺC’mon, baby, talk to me!ʺ My heart started racing and I wanted to cry. I was so scared. I just ignored the asshole. But before the situation could escalate, this creeper’s 25-ish-year-old son saved the day. He said something along the lines of, ʺC’mon, Dad, let’s go.ʺ You could tell he was really uncomfortable with the situation. And I guess they left after that.

I know that way worse catcalling situations occur all the time, but this was the first time it happened to me, and I have never felt worse. Especially when I thought about the fact that this guy was in his 50s, and he was attracted to me, a 13-year-old girl. It’s disgusting, when you think about it.

My mom is half-deaf and can’t hear well in loud situations (such as this grocery store) so she had no idea this went on until I told her about it in the car. She said, ʺI’m sorry that happened. But this is just something you’re gonna have to deal with,ʺ and tried to cheer me up.

So I guess this is what it’s like to be a woman in this society. God, it sucks.

– Anonymous

Location: A QFC in Bothell, Washington, USA

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

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Harassed by 10-year-old boys

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I went in to pick up my sister from summer camp. A lot of people were around. While walking out back out a young boy and his friends (they looked as if they were around 10-12 yrs old) said, ʺBring that ass here.ʺ I was so mortified all I could do was turn back angrily to say, ʺExcuse me what did you just say!ʺ

They all responded with laughter. Although I look like I walked out angrily, I really left feeling defeated, angry, powerless and violated because what was I to do in a situation like that? I felt that I could have stood up more for myself but the shock of it all especially when this came from a a boy who was only around 10yrs and I was 18.

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

I seriously think more people need to push for an anti-catcalling law.

– Anonymous

Location: A summer camp

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

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