I was walking down the street with my mom, and I was wearing a pretty dress because I was going to the theater. A man drove by in a car and hollered, “Please pull that dress down!”

I was 15 at the time.

– Anonymous

This post is part of a back-to-school series to highlight the young age that street harassment begins. The stories in this series were shared as part of our recent survey on street harassment and age and they entail people’s first experience of street harassment. The full list of stories is available here.

As you read the stories, note that among respondents, 70% said they were 13 years old or younger at the time of their first experience. 24% said they were 14 to 16 years old. The remaining 6% were older than 16.

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