High Tech High Chula Vista

Harassment Is Not A Compliment

Sydney Albertson

11th Grade Humanities

Mrs. Indira Hood-Esparza

March 22nd 2018

Sydney Albertson
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Mrs. Indira Hood-Esparza

Humanities III

March 6th 2018

Harassment Is Not A Compliment

Gender based street harassment is a terrifying reality that many women face. In many

cases, the escalation to physical violence is common. Stop Street Harassment, an organization

dedicated to supporting and educating the public about street harassment, describes gender based

street harassment as, “unwanted comments, gestures, and actions forced on a stranger in a public

place without their consent and is directed at them because of their actual or perceived sex,

gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation”. This is a global issue, in fact in the US alone, a

study from Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School, Professor Beth

Livingston proved that out of 4,900 women, 67% experienced street harassment before the age of

14. All over the world, gender based street harassment is a violation of human rights because it

denies women status, fairness, and certainty in society.

Gender based street harassment denies women status in society by allowing men to

capitalize and comment on a woman’s physical appearance. This, in turn diminishes a woman’s

value to just the way that she looks. In a poll done by YouGov, “31% of participants of ages 18-

29 believe that gender based street harassment is a compliment”, and “men are 22% more likely

to constitute harassment as ‘sometimes’ or ‘always’ appropriate”. These facts prove the gender

divide between the understanding of how impactful harassment can be. When harassment is

deemed ‘sometimes’ or ‘always’ appropriate, this trickles down into preserving the harmful

‘women are objects’ stereotype. In a survey conducted by Cheryl Benard and Edit Schlaffer,
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they interviewed men who had just verbally harassed women passing by. In the study they found

that,

"The notion that women dislike this [harassment] was a novel idea to most men, not because they

had another image of the woman's response but because they had never given it any thought at

all.". More likely than not, reckless harmful words leave a lasting scar on the receiving end.

Similarly, a small percentage of men who participated in this study, believed that women

enjoyed receiving their attention. "One 45-year-old construction worker portrayed himself as a

benefactor to womanhood and claimed to specialize in older and less attractive women to whom,

he was sure, his display of sexual interest was certain to be the highlight in an otherwise drab

existence.". This idea that a woman’s existence can only be bettered by a man’s attention is only

playing into the stereotype. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism states in a paper entitled ‘The

woman in the Street’, that “Street harassment itself silences women, inhibits dialogue, and

promotes sexual oppression. Street harassment does not contribute to political discourse or

meaningful conversation.”. The idea that harassing a stranger will spark a relationship is highly

unlikely, This study from Yale proves that no matter the location of the verbal harassment, it is

unwelcome and unkind, especially when it comes from a place of trying to demote a woman to

her physical appearance.

Gender based harassment is also a prevalent factor in preventing women from becoming

equal to men in the workforce, society, and in day to day life. Social disadvantages for women

have been apparent throughout history, and street harassment is one of the contributors. The LA

Transit society found in 2015 that “19% of riders have been harassed in the past year, and

passengers younger than 18 reported the highest rate of unwanted touching of any age group.”.

When a public service or space becomes an unsafe area for anyone to use, it no longer becomes
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public space. Women are statistically harassed more on public property, and as a result, fear

walking in public alone. Men on the other hand are statistically less inclined to be harassed. Stop

Street Harassment states that “ 45%, of women said they do not feel safe walking alone at night,

compared with 27% of men.”. This inequality proves how detrimental street harassment is.

Walking home has become a luxury for women, and instead of enforcing laws or bills to prevent

street harassment, women need to be armed with pepper spray and keys. Women have had to

sacrifice roaming public spaces, in fear of harassment.

Gender based street harassment creates a culture that forces women to find alternative

walking routes, modes of transportation, and overall lifestyles because of the fear of harassment.

In a study conducted by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School, Professor

Beth Livingston conducted surveys of over 4,900 women living in the United States. Livingston

gathered data that proves the staggering truth of how common gender based street harassment is.

In the study it states, 85% of women in the United States experience street harassment before the

age of 17, and that 77% of women under 40 have reported being followed by a man or a group of

men in the last year. The potential danger of being harassed, physically or verbally is enough for

many women to avoid taking certain streets, or modes of transportation home. Making the

conscious choice to go out of your way to not be harassed, can have serious psychological

damages. A 2008 study done by Stop Street Harassment proved that street harassment has a

direct link to “self-objectification, depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and a harder time

focusing in school.”. With these psychological consequences, how can street harassment ever be

beneficial? This issue does not stop on the sidewalk, in fact in the same study, they state that, “

26% of women and 28% of men experience harassment in malls, and 20% of women and 16% of

men on public transportation.”. Creating a culture that does not condemn street harassment,
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deteriorates the meaning of public spaces. 50.8% of the human population does not feel

comfortable in a space made for the public to enjoy, therefore eliminating the concept of public

property.

Some people may think that the fight to stop street harassment is only led by women, but

in order to create real change, men need to contribute. In an opinion piece posted by The

Atlantic, the author, Conor Friedersdorf, voices that creating a culture that gently guides

harassers to change their ways, instead of criminalizing their actions. Specifically, he states

“Soliciting the perspective of catcallers and engaging them in conversation might also increase

our understanding of the problem and facilitate persuasion, though large swaths of contemporary

activism and opinion journalism are so heavily invested in sanctimony and stigma that few have

tried it.”. The issue with this statement, is the inaccuracy and ignorance of it. In fact harassment

is illegal in most cases, “Under the California civil code, verbal harassment is outlawed when it

the harasser does so wilfully or knowingly and it would cause a reasonable person to suffer

“substantial” emotional distress. A victim of this type of verbal harassment may file a temporary

restraining order in certain circumstances.”, according to Hollaback, an anti-street harassment

organization. Creating an argument that so blindly disregards the majority of victims of

harassment, is not doing anyone any good. Simply stating that the answer to street harassment is

a gentle persuasion, completely eliminates the validity of the possibility that verbal harassment

will escalate to physical assault. Statistically, 75% of female respondents in an online survey

conducted by Stop Street harassment founder in 2008, “have been followed by an unknown

stranger in public, as well as Nearly 57% of women reported being touched or grabbed in a

sexual way by a stranger in public, and 27% of women report being assaulted at least once in

public by a stranger.”. Assault is a logical fear, because of how often it happens to women.
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Friedersdorf’s argument stems from a privileged male perspective, and the studies surrounding

verbal street harassment clearly do not support his solution for women to gently persuade

harassars to stop. Coming from a position of societal power, his solution may be targeted

towards the male sex, but as of women’s position in this issue, the odds are stacked against us.

Harassment in all scenarios, whether that be harassment in the street, workplace, malls, or

public transportation, is a violation to all human rights. Gender based harassment is the largest

factor in denying women status, fairness, and certainty in society. This epidemic is one of many

that needs to be prevented, in order to create total equality of the sexes.

Works Cited
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“Definitions.” Stop Street Harassment,

www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/definitions/.

Haparimwi, Charlene. “Street Harassment Isn't Just Annoying: It's Psychologically

Damaging.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Sept. 2016,

www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/street-harassment-isnt-just-annoying-its-

psychologically_us_57cf0248e4b0273330aae785.

Moore, Peter. “Catcalling: Never OK and Not a Compliment.” YouGov: What the World

Thinks, today.yougov.com/news/2014/08/15/catcalling/.

“Statistics - Stop Street Harassment Studies.” Stop Street Harassment,

www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/sshstudies/.

“Statistics - The Prevalence of Street Harassment.” Stop Street Harassment,

www.stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/statistics-academic-studies/.

Thompson, Deborah M. “The Woman in the Street .” The Woman in the Street , Yale

Journal of Law and Feminism, 1993,

www.bing.com/cr?IG=58845FACAC92433B8BFF71E08BC8B25D&CID=033C77A7A

5816956253F7C1FA42E6889&rd=1&h=mPI5DZuYYb7c66Vy7HxNunUa3LB30z0R9u

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ent.cgi%3farticle%3d1090%26context%3dyjlf&p=DevEx,5069.1.

Villa, Monique. “Street Harassment: Know Your Rights.” Street Harassment: Know Your

Rights, Sept. 2014, www.ihollaback.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Street-Harassment-

Know-Your-Rights.pdf.