Have you ever been whistled or honked at, commented on in a sexual way (positively or negatively), leered at, groped, masturbated in front of, followed, or assaulted while in public? If so, please share your story via e-mail and it will be added to this blog as a new entry. Visit the blog to learn more about the kinds of harassment women face and how they deal with it.

Note: In public, we are all susceptible to verbal, physical, and sexual attacks from complete strangers. People who are “different” or less “powerful” are particularly vulnerable to attacks by strangers. However, this site focuses primarily on the experiences of women being harassed in public by men.

In a society where politics and business are still male dominated, men make more money than women, and women are depicted in the media and advertisements simply as sexual objects, women as a category are less powerful than men as a category. Women are also vulnerable to physical or sexual assault by men and have a history of being men’s legal and sexual property. Thus, the dynamics of men harassing women on the street has a different underlying meaning than if a man harasses another man, a woman harasses another woman or a woman harasses a man. Also, the street harassment of women by men is further complicated by the different ways in which women perceive the harassment. Factors like how often they are harassed, the severity of the harassment, the race, class and age of the harasser compared to themselves, and issues of fear and safety all play a role in how women feel about and classify the harassment they receive. While surely no one would like an unknown man to grope, stalk or assault her, the circumstances and personal history of the woman will determine if she finds a man’s whistle or comments to be offensive or complimentary. Feel free to share your views on this blog.

– Administrator