Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“Catcalls…male gaze all the time!”

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Catcalls, male gaze all the time.

I feel so bad…

Men are so entitled to have the rights to look and treat women in the way they want.

Very disrespectful.

And I feel very powerless.

There should be laws against men’s inappropriate subtle unpleasant and unwanted actions or speech like catcalling and male gaze.

—  Cheryl

Location:

Hong Kong

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

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See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

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High Court in Bangladesh outlaws term “eve-teasing”

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Using terms like “catcalls,” “wolf whistles,” and “eve-teasing” to describe street harassment negates the seriousness of the problem. The terms make the behavior seem funny and cute-sy. The terms make it easy for people to dismiss women’s complaints and to stand by as men continue to harass women. (And can you imagine a similar type of “funny” phraseology for racial harassment? Wouldn’t happen, hasn’t happened.)

I use these terms grudgingly, when I think I must because they’re what people understand or when I’m reporting on a source that’s used them.

So I’m overjoyed by the news that Bangladesh’s high court ordered that incidents of harassment have to be called sexual harassment, not eve-teasing.  (via Dawn.com):

“Bangladesh`s high court recently ruled [that] the term downplays the seriousness of such crimes. The court said this in response to a class action lawsuit filed by legal activists after a number of teenaged women committed suicide, reportedly due to stalking and harassment. Police would often dismiss such crimes as innocent mischief caused by young men.“

And here’s more via Sify.com:

“The court also ruled that stalking, either physically or electronically, must be considered sexual harassment.

From January to November 2010, 26 women and one father of a bullied girl committed suicide, and 10 men and two women were murdered after protesting against sexual harassment, according to a Bangladeshi rights group.

Since coming to power in December 2008 the Awami League government has launched a crackdown, including stationing undercover police in playgrounds to prevent young males from molesting female pupils.”

Nice work, Bangladeshi activists!

Now we need to get rid of the term “catcall” in the United States!!

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Street harasser sent home from work

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I work as a dog walker in NYC, and one afternoon I was walking one of my dogs and waiting at the corner of an intersection for a light to change. As I stood there, a truck for a very well-known delivery company drove by. The driver of the truck turned to ogle me (as he drove) and then made a disgusting, lewd kissing face / noise at me. I was horrified.

Fortunately, though he’d driven too fast for me to catch his license plate number, I recorded the exact time and location that the incident took place. That night, I e-mailed the company and notified them of the incident.

The company responded within 2 – 3 hours (not during normal business hours, either… I got an e-mail at 11 p.m.!). The person who wrote me was incredibly apologetic and informed me that he personally would find out who the driver was and attend to the situation himself. He gave me his direct number and asked if I could give a physical description of the driver, which I did.

A day later he e-mailed me again to let me know that the driver had been removed from the day’s schedule and sent home, and would have to attend meetings with an HR representative and the Director of Operations. It was great to feel like I could actually take action against street harassment and have my concerns taken seriously.

– Anonymous

Location: New York City, New York

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’m a person. Not a blow-up doll”

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I live in Los Angeles, California, so I often get harassed when I walk on the street, but I’ll share one that really stuck out to me.

I was crossing a street (at a crosswalk) and a guy was sitting there in his car and asked if I needed a ride someplace, and proceeded to tell me what a “fine ass” I had. I ignored him and kept walking. He started making kissing noises at me and yelled “hey baby!” as I walked away.

It made me feel very angry and disgusted. I know I have a nice body, and I don’t need or want him to tell me that, especially in such a degrading way. It was as if he thought I existed solely to be something for him and other men to look at.

Whether he liked my body or not, he should have kept his opinion to himself. Why do men feel they are allowed to comment on our appearances this way? Why don’t they care that it makes us feel used and dirty? I resented that guy because he had no respect for me as a HUMAN BEING and instead saw me as “pussy.”

I’m a daughter, a sister, a friend. I’m intelligent, loyal, caring, and short-tempered. I am passionate and emotional…I could go on. Basically, I’m a person. Not a blow-up doll.

-Erin Selzano

Location: Los Angeles, CA

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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