Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Groped in Cadiz

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Where do I even start? Being in Spain has been out of control in terms of street harassment, but the worst experience I had was at Carnaval in Cádiz. Carnaval is the alcohol-fueled Spanish version of Halloween, in which everyone takes to the streets. My two female friends and I were walking through a relatively crowded alley and took a break when four men approached us. We were standing in a corner, and they surrounded us and trapped us in the corner.

They began to ask us if we had boyfriends (yes), where were they, and explained that if our boyfriends weren’t there then we didn’t have boyfriends. We tried to get them to get away from us and they became more and more persistent.

Finally, one of them grabbed me and started to grope my breasts aggressively through my jacket until I slapped him across the face and started screaming at him (“cabrón” is a very useful word to know in Spain if you want men to leave you alone). It was incredibly frustrating but I’m glad that I reacted quickly and got him and his minions to leave.

– E. S.

Location: Cádiz, Spain

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Groped at Midday

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I shared my story a few weeks back about the bus stop in Edmonton. I thought I’d come by and share another experience. Of course, I always have to pick the worst of the bunch, because if I wrote in with every experience I’ve ever had with street harassment, I’d do little else.

Anyway, I was walking down the street in downtown Edmonton in the middle of the day. It was the middle of summer, and, since the summers are so hot there, I was wearing a sundress. I didn’t hear the man walking behind me until I felt his breath on the back of my neck. He lifted my skirt and grabbed my butt with both hands.
I spun around and started to yell at him “Hey!” He ran off so fast that I didn’t get a good look at him. I just knew that he had black hair and a smaller build. I didn’t feel like chasing him, so I just screamed “Fuck off!” at his back.

Sadly, it was eight years before I shared that experience with anyone else. I knew I’d most likely be blamed for it for wearing a sundress that flattered my body. I was so used to being blamed for my own harassment at this point that I’d stopped talking about it. It wasn’t until I discovered this website that I started talking about it again.

– MH

Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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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