When Women Say No: The Dangers of Street Harassment

Man puts woman in headlock, punches her for refusing number.

Put in Headlock, Punched in Chicago - A 21-year-old woman was attacked by a man after she refused to give him her number, The Root reported in December 2014. Denzel Rosson of Chicago reportedly harassed the woman on a metro train and followed her as she exited. Witnesses and police say the 24-year-old then "got the woman in a headlock, punched her in the face, and tried to steal her phone and purse before he ran away.” Rosson is facing assault and battery charges and being held on $200,000 bail. Keep reading to learn about street harassment encounters that made headlines and the organizations and individuals fighting to end street harassment worldwide. —By Patrice Peck(Photo: ABC 7, chicago)
A Prevalent Problem - Although street harassment has no universal definition and virtually no legislation against it, women around the world are continually violated by the unwelcome, gender-based words and actions of strangers as they navigate public spaces. A 2014 survey revealed that 65 percent of women in the U.S. have experienced street harassment, with 23 percent having been sexually touched. (Photo: Heide Benser/Corbis)
Mary 'Unique' Spears - While celebrating the life of a deceased family member, Mary “Unique” Spears of Detroit was fatally gunned down on Oct. 4 by a man whose advances she had rejected throughout the event. Five family members, including Spears’s fiancee, were also wounded in the mass shooting and hospitalized. "What was on your mind that you could be so evil?” Belinda Bailey, Spears’s aunt, asked myFOXDetroit.com. "Because she said no to you?” The 27-year-old leaves behind three children.(Photo: myfoxdetroit.com)/content/dam/betcom/images/2014/10/National-10-01-10-15/100914-National-NYPD-Searching-For-suspect-Slashed-Womans-Neck-Queens.jpg

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Put in Headlock, Punched in Chicago - A 21-year-old woman was attacked by a man after she refused to give him her number, The Root reported in December 2014. Denzel Rosson of Chicago reportedly harassed the woman on a metro train and followed her as she exited. Witnesses and police say the 24-year-old then "got the woman in a headlock, punched her in the face, and tried to steal her phone and purse before he ran away.” Rosson is facing assault and battery charges and being held on $200,000 bail. Keep reading to learn about street harassment encounters that made headlines and the organizations and individuals fighting to end street harassment worldwide. —By Patrice Peck(Photo: ABC 7, chicago)

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