Toulouse: young women tell of the street harassment of which they are victims
While the city of Toulouse is participating in the “Ask Angela” operation, which aims to protect women who are threatened, street harassment is a phenomenon of which many Toulouse women have already been victims. Some of them were accepted to testify.
“When someone insults me in the street, I don’t answer and I act as if nothing had happened, probably for fear of being attacked,” laments Julie, a young high school student. In the streets of the pink city, many people say they have already suffered street harassment. Hissing, name-calling and sexist remarks are the most common offenses against young women on the street.
Unfortunately, stalkers sometimes go much further. “One day, two men surrounded me on the bus, without me knowing what to do. Once I got off, one of them continued to follow me. The only thing I could do was pretend to have a phone conversation,” says Lilou, 19.
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A way to feel safer
“I was leaving the cinema with a friend. Two men suggested us asking where the station was. They made advances to us which we kindly refused. They wanted to distance us from each other to have power over us. We managed to get out of this situation, even though they tried to follow us,” says Romy, a 25-year-old student.
“One afternoon, I was going to do my classes in a supermarket. A young man stopped me to ask for directions. Well, that’s what I thought. In the end, he openly asked me for a blowjob,” adds the young woman.
“It might feel safer,” says Romy, of the Angela device. “It’s a good thing, especially when we have a problem and we don’t know who to contact. In a simple sentence, we understand what is happening, and we react” explains Lilou.
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