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Hidden camera reveals how often woman is harrassed on street

Hidden camera footage has revealed just how much a woman gets harassed on the street by men in a typical day.

Hidden camera footage reveals how often a woman is harassed on street. (Screenshot: YouTube/Hollaback!)
Hidden camera footage reveals how often a woman is harassed on street. (Screenshot: YouTube/Hollaback!) Source: YouTube

2 min read

Published

Updated

By Lin Taylor

Source: SBS


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Actress Shoshana Roberts was filmed walking through the streets of New York for ten hours, recording all the comments, unwanted advances and catcalls she received during that time.

Video director Rob Bliss attached a hidden camera to his backpack and walked in front of her to document the experience, as part of a campaign for Hollaback!, a non-profit organisation aiming to end street harassment.

Roberts is seen wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, while holding microphones in each hand.

In the video, men incessantly call out to Roberts, stare at her body, and one man even follows her for five minutes.

"Somebody’s acknowledging you for being beautiful… you should say ‘thank you’ more!", a man is heard saying. Another man, whom Roberts is ignoring, offers her his number she could talk to him.

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Bliss said he recorded more than 100 instances of verbal harassment, and that didn't include catcalls, whistles and winks.

"This definitely shows the average of a daily walk. I walk a lot in the city,” Roberts told BuzzFeed News. “That was just verbal harassment we recorded, too. It doesn’t account for people whistling and undressing me with their eyes and thrusting their crotches at me.”

Some social media users weren't convinced the video was a true representation of street harassment.

One YouTube Jesse Waters wrote: "Over half where [sic] genuinely kind calling you beautiful or saying to have a nice day. A small percentage were downright offensive and creepy which of course in unacceptable and I'm sorry... To be honest this shows me most people in NYC are pretty damn nice to a pretty lady."

Twitter user Vince LiFonti added: "Since when is "Hello" & "Good Morning" harassment?"

But for some, the unwanted advances and comments that Roberts endured was unsurprising.

April Smith tweeted: "This is exactly what it's like for a woman to walk anywhere: stores, downtown, etc. And, no, we don't like it."

Meg Ingenbrandt posted: "I hate this. Guys see it as cute, most women see it as harassment."

The video has since attracted more than 200,000 views.

What do you think of the street harassment video? Tweets @sbsnews

 


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