Catcalling: why women are whistled in the street and how to react to it

What is catcalling

In 2014, a video was posted on YouTube that gained almost 50 million views and went viral. A woman, dressed in simple black jeans and a closed black T-shirt, walks around New York for 10 hours in a row, and unfamiliar men whistle in her back, trying to get acquainted, haunted and weighed out dubious compliments like "Hey, pretty!" and "Smile!" The credits say that in 10 hours the heroine received more than 100 unsolicited characters. attention. The street harassment shown in the video is also called catcalling.Cat calling.

Most often, it is understood as verbal harassment from strangers:

• rude statements and shouts;
• whistling;
• clatter, smacking, attempts to call a woman like a cat - with the help of the sounds "kis-kis-kis";
• offers to do having sex;
• greasy compliments and assessment of appearance, especially of certain parts of the body;
• using the car signal;
• persistent attempts to get acquainted.

But in a broad sense, these are generally any forms of harassment in public space. Including:

• obscene gestures;
• demonstration of the genitals;
• the pursuit;
• attempts to block the road, detain, grab hands;
• unwanted touch, physical aggression.

Catcalling can be encountered on the street, on public transport, in a park, in a cafe or restaurant, in a bar or club, or anywhere else where there are people.

Who faces catcalling

A 2014 U.S. study saysUnsafe and Harassed in Public Spacesthat 65% of women and 25% of men had to endure street harassment at least once. Another large poll, conducted among women in 42 cities around the world, showsA large-scale research survey on street harassment even more scary figures: up to 95% of women experienced harassment from strangers.

The age of the victims varies. Most women, according to these two surveys, first encountered some form of catcalling when they were not yet 17 years old. Some of the victims have not even turned 11. The tweets published on18 Women Share The First Time They Were Harassed under the hashtag #firsttimeharrassed.

You might think that harassing clothes are provoking, but this is not so. Catcalling is facedMideast Egipt Sexual Harassment women in long dresses and hijabs, and in closed outerwear. For example, it happened with the chief editor of Lifehacker Polina Nakrainikova, who went out into the street wearing a cloak and a mask, but still ran into uninvited signs of attention.

I walk down the street, here the road is blocked by a man with "kitty-kitty-kitty, beauty" and advancing on me with smacking his lips.

On the one hand, disgusting. On the other hand, I'm also good, dressed up as perversely as possible. Who would have resisted so much exposed female flesh? pic.twitter.com/UK0IH4VThs

- supernakrainikova (@vor_v_muzhike) May 21, 2020

What is the reason for this behavior

Harassment affects people of both sexes, but whoever is the victim, 70-80% of the violence comes fromUnsafe and Harassed in Public Spaces from men. In 2017, a group of gender researchers, together with the UN, studied this issue and found outUnderstanding masculinitiesthat women were molested in one form or another by 31 to 64% of the respondents at least once. Moreover, these are not marginal elements, most of them have higher education. Here are several reasons why they do this. The survey was conducted among residents of Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine, but its authors considerWhy Do Men Harass Women? New Study Sheds Light On Motivationsthat the results do not strongly depend on nationality and, with some reservations, can be extrapolated to citizens of other countries.

They think it's funny

Yes, this is the main reason the respondents gave to the researchers: "I was bored, I was just kidding."

Do not think about other people's feelings

Problem harassment in general, and catcalling in particular, was hushed up for a long time, a woman during this time was perceived as a wordless obedient object. Therefore, it does not occur to many that she can acutely experience the violation of her boundaries.

Cosmopolitan magazine tried to show men a simple walk through the city through the eyes of women. The participants in the experiment were outraged and shocked. They admitted that they had no idea what women regularly go through.

Feel impunity

Streetmen molested in few places held accountable. Even in those countries where it is possible to get a fine for catcalling and related actions (this is, for example, the USAStreet Harassment and the Law and FranceIn France, Catcalling Is Now Illegal), it can be difficult to find the offender and prove his guilt. Cameras are not everywhere, and the victim is unlikely to grab the catcaller and drag him to the police station. So the violators know very well: they will get nothing for it.

Take out self-doubt

People get angryThe Infuriating Reason Men Say They Catcall Women on the Street due to low income, problems with work, lack of interest on the part of women (or men) and their dissatisfaction are expressed in such an antisocial way. They try to humiliate the victim, point her to her place. Shina Terrant, PhD, believesUnsafe and Harassed in Public Spacesthat in this desire to dominate, toxic masculinity manifests itself - harmful and imposed ideas about masculinity.

It is believed that this is what "real men" do

They are sure that it is pleasant for a woman, and a man should be active and persistent. And in general, whistling to someone on the street is a great way to get to know each other, you won't get initiative from women.

In film, media and advertising, harassment has been portrayed for decades as something natural and right. Harassment is usually portrayed in a good-natured, playful manner, without judgment. And on-screen women rarely protest about this: they either ignore what is happening, for example, like the heroine of Monica Bellucci in Malena, or perceive the situation favorably.

In 2017 - and this is after the #MeToo campaign, flash mobs, rallies and speeches on the topic of harassment - Jimmy Choo shot a commercial in which Cara Delevingne walks around the city in sparkling boots and smiles at her whistling men.

Why catcalling is a problem

Street harassment is different from sexual assault. Most often, the victim is not even touched with a finger, and if they do touch it, then they do not cause physical harm. Therefore, this form of harassment is sometimes treated without special attention: well, no one has died or suffered. And the victims do not talk about what happened to them, because they are afraid that they will not be taken seriously. But in reality, catcalling is not a harmless joke or a compliment. And that's why.

This experience can be traumatic

Women who faced street harassment confessedA large-scale research survey on street harassmentthat experienced horror, anger, shame, resentment and indignation. Some suffered from depression after the incident, others were very reeling self-esteem. These feelings are clearly different from what they usually feel when they receive compliments.

It affects the lives of the victims

Up to 48% of women and men affected by street harassment are forced toUnsafe and Harassed in Public Spaces restrict movement, wear baggy clothing, and avoid outdoor activities. People are afraid to go to the places where they were molested, change their routes, try, in principle, to leave the house less often, experience severe anxiety, and may withdraw into themselves.

This is a very real danger

On the request "killed for refusing to meet" Google gives out 1.8 million pages, and this is only in Russian.

Yes, not all the results are relevant and many are repeated, but they confirm: there is a risk that words will turn into violence, and for resistance a woman will be injured or killed. 68% of interviewed catcalling victims saidUnsafe and Harassed in Public Spacesthat they were afraid of just such an outcome.

How women try to deal with harassment

The most common reactions are silence, stupor, flight. This is because the victims are very frightened or surprised. Trying to distance yourself from the situation is the best way to maintain safety - to pretend to be a rag so as not to touch it - but it also leads to frustration. After the incident, the victims feel hurt and annoyed, worried that they could not put the abuser in place. To find a way out of these emotions and draw attention to the problem of harassment, women conduct flash mobs and actions, and help other victims.

Blogs

Twenty-year-old Noah Jensma, a resident of Amsterdam, has photographed and posted on Instagram men who harassed her for a month. In 30 days, 21 photographs were obtained.

View this post on Instagram

#dearcatcallers "Babyyyyyyyy! THANKYOU "* blowkiss * (slide ➡️)

A post shared by dearcatcallers (@dearcatcallers) on Sep 20, 2017 at 12:11 pm PDT

Also, victims of harassment, including street harassment, write about their experiences under the hashtags #catcalling, #catcallingisnotok, #streetharassment, #I_need_publicity.

Make inscriptions on the asphalt

Flash mob Chalk Back (a play on words, which can literally be translated as "write in chalk in response") invented and launchedTaking back the streets with chalk activist Sophie Sandberg. Participants leave quotes on the asphalt - words and phrases that the street bailiffs said to them. There are relatively innocent statements: "Pretty woman!", "Let's get to know each other." But many and frankly frightening: threats rape, bullying, murder. The inscriptions are made exactly where the incident occurred. This is an attempt to shame the offender, draw attention to the problem and give a belated but rebuff.

View this post on Instagram

Being sexually harassed on public transportation is unacceptable but all too common. How do you look out for others on the bus or subway? 👀 # stopstreetharassment

A post shared by @ catcallsofnyc on Feb 29, 2020 at 11:56 am PST

Joke about the problem

In 2019, at the feminist festival "Eva's Ribs", they showed a funny video by Daria Alahonchich about how to react to catcalling. It was suggested, for example, to pretend to be dead, fly away with the wind, or dance a crab dance.

Jokes as a joke, but such behavior can unsettle a street bother.

Hanging up posters

For example, as the authors of this action. They post portraits of women, which are accompanied by slogans like “My name is not a baby”, “I don’t owe you anything”, “Men are not the masters of the streets”.

Teaching other women to resist harassment

Stand by against street harassment activists holdStand by against street harassment trainings in which they explain to the listeners how to react to harassment and rebuff offenders. In Russia, feminists also sometimes conductFemAfish Russia group on VKontakte similar events, but not on an ongoing basis: in our country the problem of catcalling is not widely discussed.

What to do if you get harassed

Holly Curl and Debjani Roy conduct trainings for women facing harassment. They sharedWhat To Do When Someone Catcalls You On The Street with Business Insider's key recommendations from their program.

Make sure you are not in danger

The main thing is safety. If there is no one nearby who could protect you, and there are many offenders or they are much stronger than you, drunk, aggressive, the most reasonable thing would be to leave or run away, and as soon as possible. Find a crowded and well-lit place, hail a taxi, ask for help, call the police, pretend that your husband or partner is calling you - in a word, do everything to increase the distance with the aggressors.

Make eye contact

If the situation does not seem very dangerous to you and you still decide to stand up for yourself, the instructors recommend that you look the harassment in the eyes with a firm and confident gaze (as much as possible). It seems to be a trifle, but persistent eye contact can knock off arrogance from the offender and make you think about what he is saying and doing.

Speak calmly but firmly

Do not try to lisp or, conversely, switch to insults: it can provoke aggression, including physical. Say out loud that you do not like what is happening, demand to leave you alone, step aside, remove your hands.

Another trick is to ask the aggressor to repeat what he just said. By this time, the attention of those around you will most likely be directed at you, and in front of the audience it will be a shame to repeat nonsense or insults to the bother.

Go away

As soon as you protested and got the aggressor to stop his actions, leave so that he does not take advantage of the situation and does not perceive it as an invitation to a discussion, a quarrel or even a fight.

If you have the strength, do not be silent about what happened to you. Explain bullying on social media, such as women's communities where there are strict rules and no bullying, in anti-violence groups. So you will not only make the problem more visible, but also get support: you will understand that you are not alone, you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and you are not to blame for what happened.

Have you encountered catcalling? Let us know in the comments.