Sexual harassment is no joke. After all, 99% of American women claim to have been a victim of street harassment at one time or another, according to a 2008 survey by the nonprofit Stop Street Harassment. And in Tokyo, Japan, 64% of women in their 20’s and 30’s say they’ve been groped while commuting. Believe it or not, in France, 100% of women say they have been sexually harassed on public transportation at least once.
In addition to being demeaning and offensive, unwarranted catcalling can also be frightening for women (and men). If this doesn’t compute, just consider that in India, a new rape case is reported every 22 minutes (imagine how many aren’t exposed to authorities). And in the U.S., more than 25% of college women report having experienced a rape or rape attempt since age 14. It’s estimated that only 16% of rapes that occur in the U.S. are reported.
Now that the figures have been presented, it might make sense as to why women particularly are on edge about catcalling. If men truly want to get to know a female they meet on the streets, there are better ways to capture her attention than to disrespect her and project insinuations.
Fortunately, some humor can be found in the station thanks to Shannon Burke, who stars in the video below. Equipped with some witty lines she and a few other writers thought up, the activist walks through the streets of Manhattan, NY, wearing unassuming jeans and a jacket. It’s no long before the catcalling starts… Her reactions, however, are priceless:
The video seeks to raise awareness about the prevalent issue of street harassment, which may turn into something more than catcalling. Please comment your thoughts below and share this news to spur conversation.
This article (Watching This Girl Combat Harassment While Out Walking Will Make Your Day) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com
