Street Harassment At Westfield State University

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On a normal day, you typically park in the parking garage down the street and walk the rest of the way to work. It’s the end of the work day, the sun is setting, and you are on your way back to your car. As you were walking, you hear someone trying to get your attention. They shout obscenities at you and ask for your name or number, getting angrier as you ignore them. They start to walk along with you, just one step behind, and you strategically place your keys between your knuckles, one by one, as if you could be Wolverine. In your other hand, you pretend to answer your cell phone, even though no one is on the other end of the line. Your heart begins to race and you walk a little faster, into the closest store you can find, hoping they don’t …show more content…

I conducted my own anonymous survey about how street harassment affects students at Westfield State University. My goal was to see how pervasive it is in students’ lives and whether it is a prominent problem on campus. In conducting my own survey, I received 115 responses from Westfield State students, and 96 of the respondents identified as women. Knowing the statistic that mostly women responded, I found that 71.3% of respondents have been street harassed in their lifetime; only 4 of those respondents were male. On the other hand, I found that 26.1% were street harassed on campus at some point. 48.7% of respondents did not think that street harassment is an issue on …show more content…

Those affected by street harassment often feel uncomfortable and unsafe in public spaces. In a 2008 study, only 3% of college-age women considered different forms of street harassment, such as catcalling or getting whistled at, a compliment. There are many psychological issues that arise in those affected by street harassment, relating significantly to self-objectification, depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and a harder time focusing in school. It can be traumatizing to sexual assault victims and cause people to change their livelihoods in order to avoid being harassed in their daily commute. People are changing what they wear and have to plan out their activities according to the time of day to avoid trouble, but even then, these “precautions” still do not prevent harassment on the

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