Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Hey sugar

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I was yelled at from the street, asked if I wanted a ride, called pet names like “doll” and “gorgeous.” I was wearing a loose tshirt and jeans, with my hair up and no makeup. Ladies, it’s not about what you’re wearing. Pervs will be pervs.

This afternoon, I was biking. A guy followed me on his bike yelling things at me, until thankfully i lost him or he gave up. I ignored him. I was scared of what he could do.

Another time a man asked me if I wanted a walk to my car, and tried to give me his number so I could ‘visit’ him sometime. The man was in his 50s. I am 18.

How come being a woman is somehow equivalent to “wants to be harassed/cant say no/open for sex” in a creep’s mind.

This needs to stop. Now.

– anonymous

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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I am not a stereotype

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I was heading home on the Key Bridge, enjoying the weather and using the time to clear my head. I had a lot on my mind at the moment.

Out of nowhere I hear male voices yell “HEY BABY!” at me in unison. Without looking I flipped the bird, but as soon as I looked I saw the smug faces of these three jackasses smiling and laughing in a car.

At first it seemed like these asses were going to get away with it, but Key Bridge traffic can be slow so I backed up and took a cell phone video of me confronting them. The guys were loud and obnoxious when they harassed me, but got quiet and tried to act like they had nothing to do with it when I confronted them. When the traffic let up a litle they hit the gas hard. I’m sure to passers-by it looked like the “angry black bitch” yelling for no reason at “innocent, well-to-do white guys,” which was not the truth at all. I am not a stereotype and to be reduced to one by these jerks sickened me.

I’m someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s aunt, someone’s niece, someone’s granddaughter and someone’s friend, but guys like that don’t give a shit. To them I’m just a piece of black booty. They don’t care about me as a human being.

I know my cell phone videos are visually crappy so I’m glad I yelled their license plate number, which is 6BK W54 (Maryland plates).

I don’t think these guys will change overnight, but I’m glad I confronted them. I know not only black women get harassed, and that harassment doesn’t only happen in DC and that I’m not the only one submitting stories to your site. I’m saying this because I’m grateful for the YouTube channel and hope more women around the world feel empowered enough to submit photos and videos to your site like I have. Thank you for giving me the forum to share my stories!

– Tired of Being Harassed

Location: Key Bridge, Arlington, VA

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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Assault in Nantes

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These are two stories, but they occurred in the same city — Nantes, France, in the Pays de la Loire province.

Story 1– I was waiting for a tram in the middle of a sunny afternoon in April. I planned to take the tram from Commerce (the center of town) to Petits Ports-Facultes, where my French university was located. As I waited for the tram, a man came up to me and rubbed his hands and arms all over my breasts. At first shocked, I started screaming and he ran away. There were easily 100+ onlookers who did nothing. It was terrible.

Story 2– Also in Nantes, I was taking the evening bus circuit from town (Commerce) to my host family’s home (near Montbazon). A strange man had followed my friends and I after dinner, but I wasn’t worried — it was only around 8pm and there’s no way he could be THAT harmful, right? He followed me onto the bus, and partway through the ride home I noticed that he was masturbating, on the bus, and staring at me with frightening and disturbing desire. Every time I moved as if I were getting off the bus, he would stand, and I knew I would be followed if I decided to stop. He moved to sit behind me, and, while he reached to touch my hair, I immediately moved to the front to sit behind the driver. I missed my stop and soon, the masturbating pervert and I were the only people on the bus. Fortunately, as the stop cycled back, a Nantes transport police officer boarded the bus. I told him what was happening, and he was dismissive. “See if he gets off first. If so, you’re fine. If not, we’ll arrest him back in the center of town.” The officer did nothing — not even talk to the man. Eventually, the man ‘finished’ — staring at me all the while– and got off the bus. I finally passed by my stop, got off the bus, and vomited on the side of the road.

– anonymous

Location: Nantes, France, in the Pays de la Loire province

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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Harassment is a health hazard

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I’m with my partner visiting his grandparents in a very rural area of Virginia. This morning when I was running, men in a white truck felt the need to whistle a few times at my retreating figure as I turned off the road they were driving on. I was wearing a bright orange, oversized t-shirt from a race and blue running shorts, I was dripping in sweat in the southern heat and humidity. In short, I was the picture of stunning beauty so I bear them no ill will for their uncontrollable need to harass me while I was on what was otherwise a peaceful run.

Sike.

I have every right to go for a run without being harassed. That includes whistling, honking, sexual comments, and stalking. Twice in my life I stopped running outside for a while because I was getting harassed so much each time I went running and that was exhausting. Additionally, I’ve had the most vulgar comments made to me on my runs and I’ve been followed by men twice while running (= very scary).

I am not alone. In an informal survey for my forthcoming book, I found that one in four women exercise inside on at least a weekly or monthly basis because of actual or feared interactions with strangers in public, meaning because of street harassment by men or their fear of being attacked.

Since mentioning this fact in an Oregonian op-ed, I’ve done a few interviews in the last two weeks specifically on exercising and harassment, because this reality is striking a nerve.

In response to the AOL article I posted on my Stop Street Harassment Facebook group, one woman wrote, “So sad and so true. My boyfriend suggested I could save money by running outside instead of using the gym. I replied, ‘I can’t. I’ve got big tits.’

Imagine how many more women would exercise if they could do so outside safely and without harassment  since running outside offers a lot more flexibility and affordability compared to exercising at a gym. And we know that exercise is something we all need to be healthy. So, men harassing women is a health hazard. Seriously, think about it.

Anyway, I want to know, do you get harassed while exercising? If so, what impact has it had on your life? How do you deal with it? Do you have any suggestions?

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“Unleash your Inner Death Metal Singer! Holla Back!”

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One day, several years ago, I thought my boyfriend was whistling at me outside of our apartment, I turned around and made eye contact with the actual man who whistled at me, a stranger. I noticed he seemed shocked and uncomfortable that I acknowledged him. I realized no one really says anything back to these men and I really wanted to start letting them know that not all women will pretend it didn’t happen. I wanted to humiliate them by acknowledging his ridiculous behavior.

A few years later I was walking in Eugene, OR on 5th and Blair with a female friend of mine when a man stopped at a light whistled at us. Fed up with men treating my friends and me like shit, I turned around, and in my best death metal voice yelled “FUCK OFF!!” The light turned green and the man followed us slowly down the street. I kept my phone in my hand in case we needed to call for help. We approached a one way street and walked the wrong way so he couldn’t follow us anymore.

I felt scared that this man might retaliate against me for standing up for myself. But mostly I felt proud of myself and hoped that I could make a dent in the frequency in which men treat women like this. I am so fucking sick of feeling confined to my home in hopes of avoiding this kind of intimidation! Unleash your inner “death metal singer” and Holla Back!

– anonymous

Location: Eugene, OR

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem. Include your location and it will be added to the Street Harassment Map.

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