This month’s Shoreditch Sisters W.I. meeting was a follow on from June’s Anti-Street Harassment meeting. Unfortunately I was not able to attend the June meeting but I had read up on all the information that was discussed. The topic struck a particular chord with me, and whilst I was not brave enough to voice my experiences or opinions during the meeting, it did get me thinking.
Street harassment is often a subject that is taken very lightly, and in many cases dismissed as the norm but this should not be the case. It is a taboo subject which covers a broad variety of harassment situations not limited to physical or violent assault.
Wolf-whistling, comments in the street are all tantamount to harassment if the individual the comments are directed at is left feeling victimised. Comments from men passing by in their cars to women walking down the street that are supposedly complimentary can leave the woman feeling uncomfortable and lacking in self-esteem and should not be tolerated in society. Whilst these examples are seemingly harmless, they lead to a relaxed attitude towards street harassment which in turn makes women vulnerable to more serious attacks, including violent or sexual.
I was glad that as a group we could openly discuss this issue and hopefully by raising awareness the message will be spread that society should not just accept street harassment.
And, hopefully our anti-harassment banners will inspire other women to join the campaign
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