Street harassment is becoming increasingly prevalent all across the globe. The anti-Street Harassment nonprofit, Stop Street Harassment, defines street harassment as:
“Unwelcome words and actions by unknown persons in public which are motivated by gender and invade a person’s physical and emotional space in a disrespectful, creepy, startling, scary, or insulting way.”
Two things are necessary for street harassment to happen:
1) A person or group who chooses to harass someone and
2) A community of bystanders willing to let it happen.
As a society, if we continue to accept street harassment as a part of our daily lives, it will never stop.
Many people would like to prevent and stop street harassment in their communities, but are worried about how to go about it. Intervening does not mean that a person has to get involved in a verbal or physical fight with the harasser. Keeping yourself safe is important and there are many safe and creative ways to intervene – here are just 16 of them:
Written by Rubina Singh; Edited by Crystal Smith and Regina Yau Continue reading