Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Dirty schoolboys

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When I was about 16, I was walking around the grounds outside my school and a younger boy (about 14) grabbed me between my legs and had a good feel. I was so ashamed that he’d found out I was having my period that I forgot to punch him in the face. I have never got over letting him get away with it and I never recognised him at school although I probably passed him many times.

– anonymous

Location: Midlands, UK

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“When will it end? It’s wearing me out…”

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I go to college in Maryland. I was born with what some would call a “gift”. I am thin, have thick, naturally bright blond hair, huge green eyes, and very large breasts. This is a recipe for disaster. I love myself and my body, but sometimes I find it hard to see myself as anything but a disposable object after the way I am treated.

I wear t shirts to class and stopped wearing makeup. Still, as I walk to class every single day I am verbally harassed. I’ll give an example from today. It was pretty warm today so I wore a jacket with a tank top underneath. For the most part the tank top covered up a lot. Since my chest is pretty big, however, tank tops are a nuisance and I have to pull them up sometimes. As I discreetly pulled it up a bit someone shouted, “PULL THAT BACK DOWN BABY THATS ALL WE WANT TO SEE” from a balcony above.

A few days ago, I was taking the trash to the dumpster. As I waked, a hispanic maintenance man stopped and asked me if I needed help because the bag was extremely heavy. I said thank you and handed him the bag and he hoisted it into the dumpster. His response: ‘YOUR WELCOME SEXY GIRL. MMMMMMM.” as he licked his lips. So I guess having him help me with my trash was a sexual proposition. GREAT.

I work in the mall. Last week I was handing out samples of cheese. I wish I had counted the countless men who referred to me as a “ho” when they thought I was out of earshot, whistled at me, or said “LOOK AT THEM TITTIES” after they had walked about 30 feet away from me.

I get dozens of sexually explicit messages from my fellow college students through social networking sites every weekend. Its funny, all of these men are so quick to say these DISGUSTING sexually explicit things, yet I havent been asked on a formal date in a year…

I’ll end with this. When I was a freshmen, 2 years ago, I went to the nearby supermarket. Some man and his friend approached me and asked me if I knew where batteries were. Before I knew it, one of them proceeded to attempt to “MOTORBOAT” me. I backed up just as his face touched my chest. The worst part was after the men quickly ran away, thinking it was the funniest thing in the world, people around me gave me disgusted looks. It was horrific.

I hope everyone finds their strength and can overcome street harassment. IT NEEDS TO STOP NOW!

– Lala

Location: Maryland

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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“Ya Just Gotta Laugh Sometimes”

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The other day I was walking home from an evening class down a fairly busy street toward a 4-way junction. It was just after 6 and the sun had already gone down, so it was night-time by then. As I was walking a truck load of about 10 men passed by me and exclaimed a loud “WOOO!!!” and everyone on the street and at the junction looked around.

Usually I’m anywhere between mildly annoyed to pissed off at being harassed in public… but that was so funny, so unexpected and so harmless that I just laughed.

Sometimes you have to have a sense of humour about these things.

– QT

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Downtown Seattle

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I live in Seattle, and comparatively the street harrassment by men is not as bad as some cities. We don’t have a lot of overt violence and groping, but men here act in passive-agressive ways that can be very annoying on a daily basis. I see it every day, all day, on the downtown streets here. Men walk around with their hands in the pockets and leer at women – almost any women that walks by. They stop at corners and turn around and stare at women walking their way. They stop in the middle of the sidewalk and block the path of a women walking by – anything to try and get attention.

It is pathetic – but I have come to view it as pathological and just as harrassing as groping. I feel incredibly uncomfortable walking alone downtown – at 8am, noon or 5pm. I never walk after dark. The only strategy that I have found works here – is headphones. Obvious Head Phones. It sends a message that you want no communication. It does not stop them all – but many get the message.

– anonymous

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Followed home from class

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Once, I was walking home from class, and a man in a car starting making cat calls at me. Then, he followed me in his car, pulled over, got out and started calling after me some more. This was in the middle of the day on a busy street.

I took my cell phone out and dialed 911, but never called the police. I walked home as quickly as possible and called my mother to tell her what happened. I was terrified that he saw where I lived and would come back to hurt me. I thankfully never saw him again.

– anonymous

Location: Minneapolis, MN

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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