I was 8 years old when l was first wolf-whistled. I cried about it to my dad saying a man made me feel uncomfortable and he simply said “well you’re growing up and men are going to start noticing you”. I was forced to accept this as normalcy and start to accept the wolf-whistles and crude comments thrown at me while walking down the street. I’ve been told that these experiences aren’t supposed to be bad. I’m supposed to accept them as compliments or jokes and continue experiencing life as a woman. I am 17 now and although l’ve never been physically harassed, l’ve been verbally harassed and have also been tailed by cars while walking on my own down to the local shops. No one believes this is a serious enough situation because it’s not rape or physical harassment. My fear is that one day it will become something like that.
