As we reported last year, by the age of 12, 1 in 4 girls will experience street harassment in the form of unwanted attention in public; by the age of 19, that number is nearly 90 percent.
The long-term impacts of street harassmentinclude depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as a reduced sense of safety that can limit earnings, decrease mobility, and interrupt their ability to fully engage with civic life.
What to do ifYOUare Street Harassed
The most important thing to do if you are street harassed is to not ignore the harasser. Calmly reply without using rude comments to show that their "compliments" are unwanted. When doing this you can't be shy you have to be confident and assertive. The replies can be as simple as stop harassing me. Be creative and come up with your own response as long as it is clean and kind, but gets the point across. NEVER should you react in violent behaviors, for this will only make the matter worse. If you start to feel uncomfortable or afraid after saying this keep walking and report the incident. To stop street harassment people have to know that it is actually happening or else it will never stop. #shareyourstory
What Can YOU do to Help
First, you can bring awareness to street harassment like Chalk For Change is doing. Easy ways to bring awareness to it is by posting things on social media. Such as twitter, Chalk For Change's twitter is: @ChalkForChange_ . Other ways are to join street protesters by holding up signs with facts and stories written on them. It truly doesn't matter what you do as long as it is helping to bring awareness to street harassment.
