What it feels like…

Imagine this: You’re walking along Lambton Quay at 2.30pm on your way to Uni, some guy grabs your arm and leers “Heeeyy there” at you, then starts calling after you “Bitch! What a snob!” when you ignore him. You can’t shake an awful feeling for the rest of the day.

Or this: You’re going for a run in Karori, it’s about 8pm and some guys in a car decide to follow you with their window down, yelling obscenities at you. You’re a bit afraid so you wait inside a dairy until they drive off, then run home as fast as you can.

Or even this: You’re walking home through Newtown after going to a party and you cross the path of a group of guys who are clearly heading into Courtney Place. They start following you and yelling things like “Fag! Homo! Where are you going!” You call your boyfriend to try and deter them because you think you’re about to get beaten up.

At Hollaback! Wellington, we don’t believe the world should be like this. We don’t think that we should feel threatened on our own streets.

Please share your story of street harassment with us using the “Share your Story” form above, and help us begin to break the silence around street harassment in Wellington!