Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“One of the managers got the creepy guy to leave”

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Got on the bus to head home from work. There was a guy sitting up toward the front who said hi to me and he looked at me in a way that made me uneasy. I decided to sit in the back and try to listen to music like usual.

A couple minutes later, I see the same guy walk toward the back and sit down in the seat in front of mine. I’ve got my headphones in, yet he starts talking to me, trying to ask me things like what’s my name and where am I getting off. I didn’t give him the info but he kept persisting and I told him I wasn’t going to tell him where I’m going and didn’t like that he followed me to the back of the bus.

At this time I was also texting my friend, telling them what was happening. Then I changed seats. As I was talking to my friend, I kept noticing the creepy dude was still looking at me and trying to talk to me. He kept pulling the cord but would stay on once he realized I wasn’t getting off.

I decided to get off at a stop way past my usual one and when I got closer to the stop, I told the bus driver that I thought the guy was going to follow me. Turned around and creepy guy was standing RIGHT behind me, claiming he was “just trying to make sure I got home safe.”

I told him several times I would be fine and had never asked for his “help.”

He proceeded to follow me all the way to a restaurant that I headed to in order to get away from him, yelling “just go home! I just wanna make sure you’re safe!!”

Thankfully I knew people at the restaurant and one of the managers got the creepy guy to leave, and a friend and their roommate gave me a ride home.

– Anonymous

Location: St. Louis, MO, US

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

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

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“You’ve got a hot body. Your head’s farked.”

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Walking from my neighbourhood to the gym, twice along the way I was verbally harassed by men. One yelled, “You’re ugly. UGLY,” as he rode his bike past me. A further 10 minutes on, a drunk/high man said, “You’ve got a hot body. Your head’s farked.”

Funny, as it is on one of the first days I decided to be proud of myself as a woman, not afraid, not keeping my presence small to protect myself.

– BT

Location: Sydney City, Australia

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

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

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National Poll on Ride-Sharing and Sexual Harassment

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Earlier this year, Alarms.org commissioned a poll of 500 women nationwide by the survey company Pollfish. Less than one percent of the women surveyed said they never used Uber and 28 percent reported they never used Lyft. Most of the women who did use the apps said they used them sporadically.

Alarmingly, many women reported feeling uncomfortable and experiencing harassment and assault during their rides. The full report is available here.

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SSH 2018 Year-End Achievements

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Hello SSH Community,

Thank you for being part of our work for the last 10.5 years!

In April, I gave birth to my first child. In his first seven months, he’s had a NICU stay, three major surgeries and dozens of medical appointments. Prior to his birth, I put thousands of unpaid hours into SSH to managing our projects and the blog and volunteers and interns, but I had to cut back on my time significantly after his birth. As a result, our achievements are not as robust as usual, which I feel badly about.

I hope that as my baby’s health improves, I will have more time to put toward SSH in 2019, but I may never return to the level I gave to the issue and organization prior to his birth — unless we receive funding that can help cover at least some of my time. If folks have suggestions for grants or funds as well as volunteers etc that can help make it more possible for us to keep doing our work, please reach out!

2018 SSH Achievements:

1. Released a national study on sexual harassment, produced in partnership with , Raliance and UC San Diego Center on Gender Equity and Health. It’s been covered by the New York Times (online and print), USA Today, LA Times, BuzzFeed, Newsweek, Guardian, BBC, NPR, Vox, Teen Vogue and Ms. Magazine, among other outlets.

Many advocates, researchers and educators are using the data and the CDC’s Intimate Partner Violence/Sexual Violence Working Group asked for a presentation on the data and survey methods and said they plan to apply lessons from it to their research.

2. Continued a partnership with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Collective Action for Safe Spaces to produce a system-wide survey on sexual harassment, do an outreach day at Metro station in April and release the first-ever audio PSA on sexual harassment.

3. Oversaw our 8th annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week with participants from 38 countries.

4. Continued to run the National Street Harassment Hotline with RAINN. It was featured by CNN and “Ask Amy!”

5. Joined the coalition led by CASS that saw the D.C., the Council of the District of Columbia pass the Street Harassment Prevention Act of 2018 (SHPA), the first legislation of its kind in the United States. Our definition of street harassment was the basis for the law’s definition.

6. Advised Google on their #MeTooRising initiative.

7. Commemorated 10 years of activism and achievements!

8. Signed onto a letter to Congress: “Reforming Procedures in Congress for Combating Harassment and Discrimination.”

9. Board member Patrick McNeil crafted a “We Believe Survivors” letter for SSH in light of the US Supreme Court hearings earlier this fall.

10. Released a guide for hosting a discussion group on street harassment (Word | PDF).

11. Helped reduce sexual harassment at the Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center, according to a survey about an anti-sexual harassment campaign that our board member Lani Shotlow-Rincon worked on. The campaign may be replicated at other VA centers.

12. Hosted a cohort of Blog Correspondents.

13. Received nearly 100 street harassment story submissions.

14. Said goodbye to long-time board members and welcomed several new ones.

15. Cited in at least 75 media stories.

Thank you! Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season and safe and productive 2019!

-Holly, SSH Founder and CEO

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