CatcallsofLdn is an Instagram account that raises awareness about street harassment using chalk art. Inspired by and working with @catcallsofnyc, founder Farah Benis collects submissions from the public then chalks them onto the pavement in the place where they happened. The hope is that chalking, documenting and sharing images of the words will help to raise awareness of street harassment and ultimately prevent it.

72% of submissions are from under 17-year-olds, 60% of those were wearing school uniforms and 100% of the perpetrators were adult men Farah Benis

Despite advances against some forms of harassment such as upskirting, which recently became an offence in England and Wales, catcalling and other forms of public harassment are still common and not classed as legal offences in the UK. “I’ve experienced it in London, all of my friends have experienced it; I mean, I literally do not know one woman who hasn’t been harassed in some way or another,” says Benis.

As part of last week’s International Anti-Street Harassment Week, Benis partnered with Lambeth Youth Council’s #itmademefeel campaign to hold a chalking event in Leake Street tunnel, Waterloo. Working with young people and schools is particularly important, explains Benis, as her data shows the majority of victims are school-age girls. “Out of the 3,000 submissions I have so far, 72% of those are from under 17-year-olds, 60% of those were wearing their school uniforms, and out of that 100% of the perpetrators were grown, adult men.”

“To me it’s really scary that you have grown men – grown men who may have kids themselves, or who may work in positions where they are around children – yet they think it’s ok to talk to children in really inappropriate ways.”

To increase awareness, Benis, along with CatcallsNYC, is launching a website www.chalkback.org on 19 April, designed to help campaigners who would like to set up their own groups and chalking events.

Although catcalling is not a problem exclusively faced by women, Benis says that the overwhelming majority of reports she receives are from women. The most important thing, she says, is making people realise that it is a serious issue – and that it certainly isn’t a compliment.

“I get a lot of people [who say] ‘yeah, take it as a compliment, move on,’ or ‘don’t the police have more to do than worry about this?’ I get women telling me [these things], so it’s really frustrating because, one, you have women modifying their behaviour regularly because of the abuse that they face in the streets, but also think about the long term psychological impact, especially on a young person, of constantly receiving this [abuse]. I changed the way I dressed when I was younger because I realised if I was wearing a low cut top or a shorter skirt I would be harassed, so I stopped wearing clothes like that. I should be able to wear whatever I want – everyone should.”

Below is a selection of submissions from the Instagram account which make it clear that, as Benis says “It’s not just a wolf whistle … if you could read some of the things people say it’s really horrifying.”



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