Comments like "hey baby, lookin' fine" and "you'd look good on me" and to whistling to girls on the street may be considered "compliments," but to the victim of the harassment, it can just be uncomfortable, rude, and scary. An innocent walk in the street can quickly turn into an awkward and painful situation.
"It's [street harassment] a symptom of a greater problem of misogyny and the objectification of women, and homophobia. It's almost the starting point of gender-based violence," said Debjani Roy, the Deputy Director of Hollaback, a non-profit and movement to end street harassment that started in 2005.
They define street harassment as, "unwelcome or unwanted verbal, nonverbal, physical, or visual conduct based on sex or of the sexual nature which occurs with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person."
Their website has a blogging platform where people who experience street harassment can share their story and gain support. They also provide a free app which includes a map marking incidents of harassment that happened in the area. It also gives information on how to react when being harassed or witnessing a victim.
70 to 99% of women experience street harassment at some point of their lives (ihollaback.org). Although the experiences may vary in which they escalate, the catcalling and whistling are surprisingly very common despite the appearance, race, size, or sexual orientation of the person. In other words, it can happen to anybody. Another source (aifs.gov.au) stated that 9 in 10 women have experienced at least one incident of public harassment.
"It's almost like an equalizer. Every woman you speak to or most LGBTQ+ people you speak to across the globe will have experienced a similar type of harassment and it makes you feel similarly as well," said Roy.
Even in a small town like West Lafayette, street harassment is very prominent, especially in the Purdue campus area. It's not a rare occurrence for the cross country team, who often practice and run in the campus area and are subjected to vulgar comments yelled at them from passing cars.
"They just drive by and feel awesome because they know you can't catch them," said Jasmin a cross country member. "It makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. I don't like it."
"We just ignore it," said Delaney who also is on the cross country team.
Roy said that if you ever experience street harassment, you are the expert of the situation in assessing your sense of safety. If you ever feel uncomfortable, the best thing to do is just to ignore it and keep moving. Being firm and direct and responding by saying "that's disrespectful" or "I don't appreciate that" is also a good way to avoid giving them an opportunity to start a conversation.
Also, if you witness or are a victim of any illegal acts like stalking, groping, and public masturbation, do not be afraid to ask for help and report it to the police. Equally, if you weren't able to report it, do not feel bad or guilty because it is not the victim's fault.
Street harassment is a common occurrence in many people's day to day lives, most of the victims being female. For many, it's difficult to understand the difference between a compliment and harassment. The key part is that if it makes you uncomfortable in any way, then it is definitely considered as harassment. If a person is not welcoming it, then it is not a compliment.
"We've been told to ignore it [street harassment], that it's not a big deal, that it's just part of our environment, it's part of our scenery," said Roy. "But it shouldn't have to be."
