Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
International "Catcall" Survey Reveals Widespread Street Harassment In 22 Nations
By
Emma Whitford
Published May 28, 2015
Modified May 28, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Emma Whitford
Published May 28, 2015
Modified May 28, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Last fall, the anti-street-harassment nonprofit Hollaback posted a video montage of actress Shoshana Roberts walking around NYC for ten hours in a black t-shirt and jeans, enduring about 100 incidents of street harassment—everything from "Smile!" to "Somebody's acknowledging you for being beautiful—you should say thank you!"
The video received 15 million views in two days, but some questioned whether one heavily edited video could present an accurate representation of a global phenomenon—specifically whether the video had been edited to disproportionately feature catcalls from black males. In an interview with Gothamist two days after the video's release, filmmaker Rob Bliss urged viewers not to think of Roberts's experience as a scientifically representative survey:
I think the biggest misconception here is not understanding how inaccurate a sample size of 18 people is going to be, out of the tens of thousands of cat calls that happen. For example, the two dudes that stalk her, they alone account for 50% of the video, wildly swinging the scales with just two guys. What if they were Italian, or Russian? Does that mean that we're saying or implying that 50% of Italians are responsible for cat calling?
The biggest problem is people are acting like this is a survey, and there's no way anyone would trust such a survey of 18 people, especially with two people making up half the vote. There's no way that's going to be accurate. Like, there's no Asian men in this video either, are we saying that Asians don't catcall? People are drawing way too broad of conclusions. We filmed for a short period of time, we captured a few dozen interactions, and since we knew that they wouldn't necessarily represent the full demographics, we talk at the end of the video about how people from all backgrounds catcalled during our shoot.
Street Harassment: The Largest International Cross-Cultural Study, which Hollaback released yesterday in conjunction with Cornell University, attempts to be that survey. Findings are based off of 16,607 respondents under the age of 40 across 22 countries, including South Korea, Poland, India, South Africa, and Canada. (4,872 of the respondents were in the United States.)
Administered between October and December of last year, the study found that 84% of women surveyed experienced street harassment before the age of 17, and that 50% have been fondled or groped. Of transgender women surveyed, 82% reported harassment because of their gender identity.
The survey also details specific types of street harassment, and how women respond to it. For example, 72% of US women said that they've chosen to take different modes of transportation in response to an instance of harassment, while 80% of Indian women surveyed said that they didn't feel comfortable going out at night. In South Africa, street harassment compelled 80% of women to change their clothing, while 63% of Canadian women reported feeling "distracted at school or work."
Results are broken down for each of the 22 participating countries here.
Tagged
catcalling
hollaback
street harassment
original
Emma Whitford
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .