We Need to Talk About Street Harassment
I was 13 the first time I was harassed in public.
It was a scorching hot day in Los Angeles, and I wanted to go for a run. I had just discovered the world of fitness and was finally ready to tackle the steepest hill in my neighborhood. One foot in front of the other, I huffed and puffed until I noticed a pickup truck slow down beside me. When I turned my head, an older man started blowing kisses, licking his lips, and laughing. He drove away before I could process what had happened to me. This was the first time I was objectified and sexualized - but absolutely not the last.
Sometimes, I feel like my fear of street harassment controls my day-to-day life. I will order food to my house before picking it up to avoid walking down the street. Before I elaborate further, I’ll start by explaining what street harassment is.
Street harassment can include whistling, honking, kisses, or comments on someone’s being. It involves anything from verbal abuse to stalking, touching, flashing, and rape. These unwanted remarks are targeted toward strangers in public, putting them in distressful and vulnerable positions. Street harassment turns an easy task into a stressful, uncomfortable experience. At its core, it’s about and is nothing short of gender violence.
This is a global issue that plagues women around the world each day. However, I’m only going discuss this in the context of the United States - as I’m still learning how this issue manifests in different places. Most women in the United States have experienced street harassment at some point in their lives. This is true regardless of age, color, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geography. That being said, we must acknowledge that LGBTQIA+ individuals and women of color are disproportionally impacted by this issue. Many men experience this as well, especially the LGBTQIA+ community.
There’s a huge problem in how society understands street harassment. For both the harasser and the harassed, it’s a normative part of daily life. Women Going Beyond, an NGO focused on gender equality, wrote this in an article: “Street harassment is a prime example of a ubiquitously normalized and thereby uncontested form of violence,” I’ve repeatedly heard men downplay this problem, justifying literal harassment as a “compliment.”
They don’t understand that street harassment is a human rights violation. Many people, particularly women, avoid going out in public because they feel threatened. Street harassment can also take a severe psychological and emotional toll on targeted individuals. I’d have to agree, as I’ve spent countless hours in therapy trying to control the anxiety I have in public, specifically in the presence of men.
To add fuel to the fire, society expects women to prevent their harassment instead of holding men accountable. When I think about it, it’s heartbreaking how much of my day is spent trying to avoid being harassed in public. From the clothes I wear to the routes I take, it consumes my thoughts and denies me my independence.
So, why do men sexually harass people in public so regularly?
Stop Street Harassment, a non-profit organization focused on ending gender-based street harassment, touched on this question in a report.
“Our culture repeatedly tells boys and men that one way to prove their masculinity is by putting someone else down. This is a form of hyper-masculinity that relies on exerting power over people who are perceived as less valuable. Harassment is a way to make that happen.”
Shira Tarrant, PhD, California State University, Long Beach
It’s time we focus on the harassers rather than following the same outdated victim-blaming narrative.
Stop Street Harassment discusses the need for male allies here, with articles about educating men, bystander tips, and how to talk to women.
Read this article for information on what to do before or after harassment.
National Street Harassment Hotline:
Call toll-free: 855-897-5910
Visit the online hotline