Vacation

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My family decided one year to book an activity holiday with Neilson, for a change. The vacation was super great with nice accommodation and friendly peers (although there were several instances of boats capsizing etc. in some water-based activities). However, working at the resort was a photographer who took photos of everybody and if you wanted photos you would purchase them. Therefore, you couldn’t not have your picture taken. It didn’t really bother me with him taking my picture (although I got that gut feeling that he was kind of a creepy guy) and generally ignored it. That was until he started approaching me and several other girls – not boys btw – from behind (really quietly so you couldn’t move out the way because you didn’t notice) and placed his hands on my hips. He then tickled me and it was really disturbing. He did this several times and it really unnerved me. I was only 12 at the time and he was a middle-aged man. Because he didn’t speak English I didn’t know how to communicate that it made me feel uncomfortable. I really did feel sorry for some of the other girls he did this to though, because they were wearing bikinis (I didn’t then) and so his hands would be on their skin. maybe I’m overreacting? But I think in general everyone should just assume that other people do not want to be touched on the hips randomly and repeatedly.

Willow

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When I was about twelve my family and I went to Jamaica for a wedding. Since it was the first time we had gone out of the country we stayed at an all-inclusive resort. This resort was awesome, it had an ice cream machine, a Buffet, an open bar( with age restrictions. Duh.), a beach, pools and water slides all within a two-minute walk from our room. This was an amazing experience, it was the first time I had been to the ocean and seen trees that had fruits other than apples on them. I live in a relatively small town and don’t go to the city very often so there are few opportunities for me to be catcalled or harassed. But at this resort there were lots of people around all the time and almost everyone had bathing suits on or some other form of light clothing and many were a bit tipsy in the afternoon. As a twelve-year-old from a small town, waterslides were super exciting. My younger brother, sister and I were all over the slids in minutes. I had gone on one of the slides a couple of times and was having the time of my life. At the top and bottme of the slide, there was a lifeguard-type person. This guy’s job was to make sure nobody whent up that was to small or drunk. After going on this ride for a few times I was familiar with the procsses. When I was going up to the slide the guy at the bottom of the stairs woofed and growled at me. I was so confused. My stomach dropped and I felt like puking. I had never even heard of catcalling. I didn’t know that being a woman meant that men would do this to me. I didn’t go back on that slide for the rest of the trip and I never told anyone that it happened. For a while, I forgot about it but as I got older I heard about my friend getting catcalled when she when to the city and when I went to see a hockey game with my family two young women in front of us, on our walk back to the hotel, were being harassed by two men who wanted them to go into their club. My life from age twelve to about sixteen was spent thinking these things were normal and even that being catcalled meant you were attractive. Now five years after my brife encounter with harasment thinking of the things women deal with every day makes my stomach roll just like when I was twelve.

Rebecca

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When i was 19, i was with my boyfriend in Croatia for Hollidays. We were walking near to a streat and i get catcalled. I was almost used to that. But i wasnt used to the reaction of my boyfriend, he mentioned that i must done something wrong and he assumed that they may think that i am a prostitute.