Happy Holidays from a #HoundAgainstHarassment
“My boyfriend didn’t notice what the man said at all”
I was eating at a local place with my boyfriend. A woman was just leaving after picking up an order as a man was walking in. He immediately started to make very lewd and objectifying comments about her body to her as she was leaving. I was shocked and disgusted he’d act like that. He then proceeded to go up to the counter and continue to make these comments to the workers at the counter. It made me lose my appetite, and I wanted to leave immediately to avoid receiving the same sort of comments.
Optional: Do you have any suggestions for dealing with harassers and/or ending street harassment in general?
Something interesting about this story is that my boyfriend didn’t notice what the man said at all. I think many men don’t grow up noticing these comments or knowing when harrassment is happening around them. Men need to be more understanding of why women are afraid or upset after being harassed, and learn how to recognize harassment. Just understanding what it is and what it looks like, even if you cannot intervene can go a long way and it can help those who don’t often experience street harassment provide better support to those who do.
– Anonymous
Location: University Area, Charlotte, NC
Download DC Now’s Anti-Harassment Cards
You can download copies of these anti-street harassment cards from DC NOW’s website!
Our board member Lindsey has cards too, at Cards Against Harassment.
“If only I wasn’t in my car right now.”
I was fifteen years old and I was walking to work after school across a highway overpass. There weren’t very many cars on the street, and I noticed this car with two men in it driving slower than normal slightly behind me. They looped around the block 3 times so they kept passing me and the third time they started driving the same pace that i was walking, right next to me. One man pulls out a camera and starts taking pictures of me, saying “hello gorgeous,” and “if only I wasn’t in my car right now.” I was in an area where there were no shops and and at the moment, no pedestrians, so I walked as fast as I could and had to call the police, pretending I didn’t even notice. They drove away when they saw the cop car. The people who did pass me as I walked by noticed something was happening, and yet did nothing.
– Anonymous
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for more idea
DC Justice for All March
I attended the Justice for All rally and march in Washington, DC today. We need police reform and we need to work toward a society where there is no racism, sexism, homophobia, discrimination, etc. #BlackLivesMatter #StandUpDontShoot #JusticeforAll
“Thousands of demonstrators streamed down Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday, shouting “Black lives matter,” “Hands up, don’t shoot,” and “I can’t breathe” to call attention to the recent deaths of unarmed African American men at the hands of police.
The peaceful civil rights march led by families of the slain and organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network drew a wide range of Americans – black, white, Latino, Asian, young and elderly. They walked east toward the U.S. Capitol in a pageant of colorful t-shirts, banners and signs.
The most poignant moment of the day came when family members of black men and boys killed by police — Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamar Rice, Trayvon Martin and Amadou Diallo — took the stage at a rally at the Capitol.”
Image for poster via Bougie Black Girl.