Catcalling Is Not ‘Normal’ — and We Cannot Allow It To Be

It happened when I was 17 — not the first such incident but it remains most seared in my memory. It was early autumn, so I was wearing a sweater or light jacket – not that it matters, except that women and girls have been taught to believe that what we are wearing does matter, and to dress in response. 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?…

© Human Rights Watch - mardi 6 novembre 2018