80 to 100 percent of women worldwide face at least occasional unwanted, harassing attention in public places from men they do not know just because they're female. This is called "street harassment."

Street harassment and the fear of sexual assault make girls and women feel unwelcome and unsafe in public at least sometimes, especially when they are alone. It causes them to be in public less often than they would otherwise and to be on guard while there. .

While harassment motivated by racism, homophobia, transphobia, or classism (which women perpetrate too) is recognized as socially unacceptable behavior, men’s harassment of women motivated by gender and sexism is not. Instead it is portrayed as complimentary, “only” a trivial annoyance, or women's fault based on their clothes.

But like other forms of harassment, street harassment is bullying behavior that has negative outcomes for women, men who don't harass, and society in general. No country will achieve gender equity as long as half of the population is harassed when they leave home.

Street harassment must end!

Learn more about street harasssment, read women's stories, discover an array of resources, find strategies for dealing with it, and ideas for ending it.

Buy the Stop Street Harassment
book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Attend Book Release Events:

• Sept. 2 in Washington, D.C.
• Sept. 10 in New York City

Street harassment activists in D.C.

Speak Out! Act! Do Something!

Make public places safe &
welcoming for women!