Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

“I want to be your bicycle seat”

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I had locked up my bike at one of my city’s busiest intersections to go shopping. As I was unlocking it and getting ready to ride off, with people bustling all around, a man in the back of an SUV told me I looked sexy in my helmet (obviously being sarcastic and insulting). He then told me that he wished he were my bicycle seat. URGH! Disgusting. I tried to play it cool and address him directly, but all I could think of as he drove off was how I wished I had had some awesome, witty comment to shut him down. I was so amazed as how willingly some guys make complete idiots of themselves.

This made me realize that regardless of what you are wearing, or what you are doing, if you are female you are ALWAYS a potential target for street harassment. What made me even more angry was knowing that had my male partner been there, that guy would never have said anything (just like how some guy wouldn’t have tried to grab my ass on the subway escalator had I been with a male friend / partner or not alone).

I know that what I experience is nothing compared to what many women experience, and yet I still get really pissed off. Street harassment has to stop.

– FJ

Location: Toronto, Ontario, 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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"Butt Slap Leads to Activism" Follow Up Article

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About a month ago, a contributor to this blog (Lauren) wrote a post about a recent street harassment experience she had where a teenager on a bike slapped her butt while she was jogging in her neighborhood. She said that as a result of that experience (and other experiences of street harassment) she was going to write an article about street harassment for one of her classes in her master’s program in journalism at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON, Canada. As part of her paper, she interviewed me and the facilitator of Holla Back Tononto. Well, she just sent me her completed paper and she’s considering trying to get it published , so check it out!  Way to go, Lauren!

Like Lauren, most of the street harassment activists I’ve spoken to became an activist because one day they said, “enough” and decided to do something about the harassment they were experiencing and/or saw other women experiencing.

If you’re fed up with street harassment, I encourage you to think about something you can do about it, be it sharing your story, writing an article, starting a HollaBack website, posting fliers in your neighborhood, making  a documentary, or starting an activist group, you can make a difference.

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“Butt Slap Leads to Activism” Follow Up Article

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About a month ago, a contributor to this blog (Lauren) wrote a post about a recent street harassment experience she had where a teenager on a bike slapped her butt while she was jogging in her neighborhood. She said that as a result of that experience (and other experiences of street harassment) she was going to write an article about street harassment for one of her classes in her master’s program in journalism at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON, Canada. As part of her paper, she interviewed me and the facilitator of Holla Back Tononto. Well, she just sent me her completed paper and she’s considering trying to get it published , so check it out!  Way to go, Lauren!

Like Lauren, most of the street harassment activists I’ve spoken to became an activist because one day they said, “enough” and decided to do something about the harassment they were experiencing and/or saw other women experiencing.

If you’re fed up with street harassment, I encourage you to think about something you can do about it, be it sharing your story, writing an article, starting a HollaBack website, posting fliers in your neighborhood, making  a documentary, or starting an activist group, you can make a difference.

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Street Harassment Round Up – June 14

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New Feature:

  • Visit the Stop Street Harassment Website’s “Map It” page to see where various street harassment incidents have occurred – click on the pushpins to read their stories. (Note: if the pushpins don’t show up at first, try refreshing your browser once or twice. Not sure why this is happening but refreshing eventually makes them show up). Submit your story.

Stories:

  • On this blog, a young woman in London, Ontario, Canada, tells how a boy slapped her on the backside from his bike while she was running. Her anger at the harassment led her to write an article about street harassment for her college.
  • On Holla Back NYC, a contributor tells how a man groped her under her dress while she was buying a Metrocard at the subway!
  • Holla Back DC! has a contributor post from a woman who used to be catcalled every day in her neighborhood and one day a man followed her and threatened her by saying her address and saying he’d come find her, so she better not go to sleep!

Share your street harassment story today and help raise awareness about the problem!

In the News:

  • Emily May of Hollaback NYC wrote an op-ed for New York’s Metro newspaper about how harassment and other misdemeanors must be included in the MTA’s crime count because without subway transparency, the crimes will continue unabated.
  • In Salt Lake City, UT, a man was arrested for groping two women (two different incidents) in public. The police fear there may be other victims and encourage any to come forward.
  • In San Francisco, CA, a man was reported to police for sexually assaulting women on the Muni transit system. Anyone with tips about the man can call (415) 553-1651.

Upcoming Events:

Street Harassment Resource of the Week:

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Butt Slap Leads to Activism

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Recently I was slapped on the butt by a teenager on a bicycle while I was jogging in my neighborhood. He simply came up behind me, spanked me, and furiously pedaled away. I was wearing sweatpants and my little brother’s oversized soccer jersey. No makeup, greasy ponytail – I looked like crap (though, even if I had been provocatively dressed, it would be no excuse for this boy’s behaviour).

After screaming profusely at the kid and his friends, who rode away laughing like hyenas, I walked home almost in tears, feeling so violated and frustrated with society in general. I can’t stop asking myself how somebody, especially at such a young age, would think that he has the right to act like that towards another person. It’s scary. I feel as though women over the age of 12 can rarely step outdoors wearing anything less than a parka without being jeered at by creepy men anymore. And I’m frustrated.

[As a result], I am working on a story for a school assignment on the subject of street harassment…Street Harassment is positively rampant in London, [Ontario,  Canada], and I think that my campus community would respond positively to an article like this. Hopefully, it will inspire girls in London to start fighting back against the creeps that scream at us from their cars. At the very least, it can raise awareness about the fact that street harassment isn’t a harmless game.

– L.O.

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