Woman Walks Silently with Hidden Camera Through New York City Streets to Capture What’s Being Said to Her

An attractive, curly-haired woman named Shoshana B. Roberts, clad in a black crewneck T-shirt and jeans, silently took to the streets of New York City with a hidden camera in order to capture what was being said to her as she walked around. During her 10 hours of walking, she documented “100+ instances of verbal street harassment… involving people of all backgrounds. This doesn’t include the countless winks, whistles, etc.” The silent walk was created by Rob Bliss for Hollaback!, a non-profit that seeks to end street harassment through education.

In August 2014, Rob Bliss of Rob Bliss Creative reached out to Hollaback! to partner on a PSA highlighting the impact of street harassment. He was inspired by his girlfriend—who gets street harassed all the time—and Shoshana B. Roberts volunteered to be the subject of his PSA. For 10 hours, Rob walked in front of Shoshana with a camera in his backpack, while Shoshana walked silently with two mics in her hands. Street harassment is a form of sexual harassment that takes place in public spaces. It exists on a spectrum including “catcalling” or verbal harassment, stalking, groping, public masturbation, and assault. … It’s important to keep in mind that is this video only captures verbal harassment, and Rob and Shoshana can attest to the harassment overall falling evenly along race and class lines. While filming, Shoshana noted, “I’m harassed when I smile and I’m harassed when I don’t. I’m harassed by white men, black men, latino men. Not a day goes by when I don’t experience this.”

via Gothamist