oogling Archives | Stop Street Harassment

I’m just 13 and from the UK and I’m sick of harassment too! I have large boobs which aren’t my fault, what do men expect me to do chop them off?! I should not be persistently harassed because of them.

Just yesterday me and my friend were walking up her street, there were two boys/men of between 20-25 in front of us. Suddenly one of them turned round, looked me directly in the eyes and wolf whistled. I, being used to this sort of thing ignored it but I could tell my friend was a little shocked. We walked passed them and then I heard the boy singing “Get your tits out, get your tits out. You’ve got big boobs you’ve got big boobs, give us a look” again and again. By this point me and my friend were a little scared and holding hands and to top it off there was another group of about 5 boys of about 15 ahead who kept looking. Suddenly the first boy ran ahead of us and screamed “I want you, how old are you? I want you” and my friend told him to please leave us alone. He wouldn’t so we began to practically run down the street, thankfully the boys ahead turned around and asked if we were ok and told us to walk ahead of them they “had our backs” but really we found the whole experience terrifying. If those boys hadn’t been there I dread to think what would have happened!

I don’t want to put up with this for the rest of my life. When will men learn it’s not cool, or funny? It’s demeaning and scary and HAS TO END!!!!

– Isadora

Location: UK

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.

The NY Daily News has photos and more information about the two women who were hit by a street harasser in New York on Friday. Sadly/infuriatingly one of the women died and the other woman, thankfully, will survive her injuries.

“When the two [women] ignored the men’s advances, the van slammed into the women, pinning Katsiambanis, before coming to a stop at a CitiBank, police said…Cops arrested Keston Brown, 27, of the Bronx, and charged him with driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana. Sources said Brown, who has prior arrests, was flirting with the women while driving by them. When they spurned him, he lost his temper – and control of the van, they said.”

In the other news stories I’ve read in the last year where street harassment escalated to murder, the women similarly ignored or turned down the men’s advances. In my research I’ve found that women’s most common response to a harasser is ignoring them, for numerous reasons, like they don’t want to give the men any sign of encouragement. But harassers can escalate whether they are being ignored or whether they get a reaction from the person they are harassing. This is why ending harassment boils down to a focus on the harasser, not how women respond. It may not matter how women respond because different harassers are looking for different reactions and when they don’t get them, or if they do get them, they escalate the harassment.

All that being said, seeing the photo of the woman who was killed with her family is very saddening.

“Give us a look”

Update on Midtown Harassment Tragedy