The Social Injustice of Catcalling

Schools are Neglecting Educating Students on the Dangers of Catcalling and Street Harassment

Woman being harassed on the street.

One woman describes her story:

As I walked by some construction scaffolding on my way to class, I heard a man yell: “Nice rack!” I think he snickered, or maybe that was the humiliation echoing in my head. I was mortified. I felt like the world’s eyes were on me – on my body, and its most private parts. Did my classmates hear? The shop owners on the street I walked every day? Decades later, every time it comes to mind I feel my body curling in on itself, my shoulders rounding, my arms crossing like protective armor.

This is the unfortunate reality of street harassment. These types of events happen every day to thousands of women. These types of stories happen to women of all ages - including to those aged 10-17 years old. 

A story from BBC goes on to say: 

Maya Tutton, 22, says that her first experience of street harassment was when she was still at school, recalling: "I remember one particular incident when I was 14 and several men pulled up next to me with two friends and they made some of the most sexually threatening comments I had heard in my life.” 

"And I remember just being so scared and never feeling the same way in public spaces again." 

These events are happening to young girls and they are unprepared because things like this should not be happening in the first place. I believe that with more education within schools showing how catcalling can very seriously impact women's views on the world around them and make them feel unsafe - it could help reduce the amount of catcalling in the United States. 

Some people will defend the actions of catcalling saying that they're just "giving compliments" or that it is "freedom of speech" so there is nothing wrong with it. This argument is just straight up false. The whole idea of catcalling is that it is harassment which is against the law. Just as racism should not be tolerated, catcalling and sexual harassment should not be taken lightly either. Defending the actions of individuals who commit to harassing women perpetuates the cycle of women's suffering.

One woman who was questioned at the Staten Island Ferry shared their experiences with catcalling stating: 

 

“Just walking to school or to the store, some guys try to talk to me, like, ‘Oh, how old are you? What’s your name? You look so pretty,’ and when you deny them, they start calling you out and get angry,” said one young woman, May, just 13. “I get scared because they are a lot older than me. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I don’t even like to walk out because guys ask me weird questions. It’s just very uncomfortable.” 

An international study of 16,000 women found 84% were harassed before they were even adults. And in the UK, an area that is going through a similar issue as the United States, 90% of women are harassed before age 17. 

2016 Survey for Stop Street Harassment.org

This graph shows similar numbers highlighting the effects of street harassment on women.

Clearly the numbers are extremely high and very jarring to look at.

The only true way to reduce these issues would be to educate students and teach them about these types of issues going on in the world. Teaching students about these types of harassment is very important because normalizing this type of harassment will lead to more violent crimes such as sexual assault. Students need to be taught sooner rather than later before they already make up in their minds that it is something that is unimportant. For now until schools will educate students, parents should educate their children and set an example that it is NOT okay to be behaving like this. People should hold their friends accountable so that women do not have to feel unsafe anymore. It is time for change.