Sexual Touching and Groping

Nearly 57 percent of the 814 women survey respondents* reported being touched or grabbed in a sexual way by a stranger in public. About 18 percent said they have been touched sexually at least six times.

“Walking down the street in Hartford and two guys rode up behind me on bikes and smacked my ass as they went by.”
– 20-29 year-old bisexual Anglo American in Naugatuck, Connecticut

“I once had a man press his penis against my hand while riding on a subway. That felt almost as bad as being assaulted.”
– 20-29 year-old bisexual Anglo American in Austin, Texas

“Riding a bus in Reno a man behind me slid his hand along [the] side of [the] seat against [the] window to fondle me.”
– 20-29 year-old heterosexual Anglo American in Reno, Nevada

“When I was about 10 years old, a man came up behind me on the sidewalk and groped me.”
– 30-39 year-old heterosexual Anglo American in Lakeland, Florida

“I have had strangers grab my hair, my butt, my breasts when I was younger. I have been masturbated at, flashed, groped, catcalled, etc. since I was 12, sometimes even when with a man or my child.”
– 40-49 year-old heterosexual Anglo American in Hawaii

“Perhaps the most terrifying was when I was swept into a crowded corridor of a place of worship and [was] touched, groped, pinched, scratched, and had a piece of my clothing ripped by nameless, faceless, ageless men.”
– 20-29 year-old heterosexual Indian in Chennai, TN, India

“I was waiting in a cab for my friend, while he was getting a few things at the store. The cab driver and I started making small talk. Without warning he grabbed my breasts and tried to kiss me. I pushed him off of me. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. Luckily my friend came out of the store. I sat in silence the entire ride. The cab driver was joking around with my friend like nothing happened.”
– 20-29 year-old heterosexual Anglo American in Kalamazoo, Michigan

* I conduced an online informal survey in fall 2008 to learn more about people's experiences in public, including street harassment. Nine hundred and sixteen people had useable responses and they came from a range of backgrounds and geographic locations, demonstrating the prevalence of street harassment globally. Survey-takers selected age-range categories from “13-19” through “80 and older;” they represented every major American racial group; they identified as bisexual, gay, heterosexual, lesbian, queer, “other;” and they came from 45 American states, 23 countries, and five continents.