Topic > Different perspectives on street harassment and why it happens

Every day a woman, especially someone walking the streets of Philadelphia, can be a victim of verbal harassment. It is a typical phenomenon that women encounter whether they walk alone or dress appropriately for the climate. Any word without context can be considered offensive to anyone, especially women and transgenders. Most harassment comes from men who have no connection to them, which makes women even more uncomfortable. Anyone can be at fault in any situation, but there are tons of studies that show the majority are men who objectify women by physically touching them and/or verbally abusing them. In the article “Street Harassment in Philly: Unsafe, Uncomfortable and Untracked” written by Anna Orso, she wrote several important topics about the different types of harassment that occur in Philadelphia. It warns the reader that this is a typical concern that they should be familiar with and how they should respond if they were the victim or a bystander. It also has various women describing their stories of the street harassment they have experienced. Orso may be right that women are harassed every day in the city, but the argument would have been stronger and would have made readers think if he had also considered the different points of view on street harassment, including those of the suspect, the official and finally transgenders. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Looking at it from the perpetrator's perspective, there isn't much thought put into the decision to harass someone. He can be taught at a young age to disrespect women or he can be taught by his surroundings. One of the women in the article, Huxta, explained that teaching children can possibly prevent street harassment. Most children don't always listen to their parents and this is part of raising a child. Teaching them how to treat people with respect can be difficult, especially if the community is heavily involved in their lives. At some point, they start to distance themselves from their parents because they want to be with their peers, but having good or bad ones can influence them more on an ethical level. Obviously, parents who have children want them to set a positive example for the community, but they really don't know what their minds are going through or what their next actions will be. The article states: “Beyond inspiring grassroots activism and aiming to better educate young people, there is little guidance on how to address street harassment in a comprehensive and meaningful way. But most women agree: it can't just be them” (Bear 14). This means that it is certainly difficult to give advice to young people about street harassment because they may take that information and keep it in their head or it may go over their head. What women meant by “it can't just be them” because they understood that the environment plays an important role in their lives. Every child is raised differently depending on the type of community in which they live. There are two main communities where most children live: suburban areas and urban areas. Living in an urban area, there is a lot of outside activity going on, which can create more people on the outside looking for victims or potential victims, without them even realizing what they are doing. To summarize, Orso's argument should have explained the environment the kids live in because not many people know what the streets of Philadelphia are like. There are several parts of Philadelphia that are considered good orbad. It can all depend on the community if they are willing to put an end to harassment and have a better environment where kids can learn from it. To go deeper, studies have shown that harassment occurs more easily in large cities than in rural areas. areas.Stephania Zeppenfelt is one of the women in the article explaining her story and the harassment she experienced in the city. When she lived in the city, she wore a ring that could have helped her with the harassment, even though she was not married at the time. Since moving to a better neighborhood, she realized that she no longer needed to wear the ring because there were no male figures on the street ready to harass her. The article stated: “She says the street harassment she has experienced has eased considerably since she moved. But it led her to reflect on the harassment she had suffered for years and how she changed herself to avoid it” (Bear 3). It shows that where you live can have a drastic effect on sexual harassment. There are so many people living in a city where there is poverty, drugs and people with mental problems, not that the suburbs don't have problems, but the people who live in close proximity seem to be more affected by the harassment. Given the situation going on in Philadelphia, there isn't much they can do when harassment is reported because of the constitution. There are many claims that women can issue a restraining order for every male, but this happens every day and there may be several offenders as well. Studies have shown that “93% of over 400 respondents said they had experienced harassment in the past year” (Bear 5), and each year these numbers will increase significantly. It seems to be up to the community if they want to help, as the police can't do much except tell the suspect to stop. Since no one can be arrested for any verbal comments, the number of street harassment will probably increase further because they know they won't get caught or arrested for it. The article stated: “Police walk a balancing act between reporting offensive behavior and protecting the constitutional right to free speech. If there is no violence, stalking or repetition in the harassment, it may not be prosecutable” (Orso 5). This means officers cannot arrest anyone if free speech is part of the constitution. It is their right to say anything to someone without physically hurting them. Even if they have the right to make rude comments, looking at women's point of view, do they have the right to feel unsafe when walking around a community? It's not just women who feel unsafe walking the streets, but there are tons of transgender people there who have experienced harassment. Since 2015, people have been able to legally marry same-sex couples, but most people oppose this for religious or personal reasons. Harassment can affect transgender people emotionally and can eventually turn into a violent situation. Marrison is one of the women in the article who talks about harassment and it is a very common concern for transgender people in Philadelphia. The article states, “Trauma is exacerbated, (Marrison) said, because a high percentage of the trans community experiences gender dysphoria, 'so anxiety is high'” (Bear 8). It means that the provocation can greatly affect transgender or LGBT community because they are probably afraid to let the community know who they really are. They want to experience what feels right for them, but by being harassed by it, their anxiety will increase more of what they are currently feeling. From their perspective, this harassment can be more brutal than it is for women. Not all of them./.