It doesn’t just occur when women pass by a construction site or a group of men hanging out in front of a store. Simply by walking down the street or being in ANY public place, women can be subject to behavior that ranges from the merely annoying to the downright terrifying. Men give us unwanted compliments, whistle at us, make catcalls and sexually-explicit comments.

They block our path, stand too close, fondle, grope and rub up against us on busses, subways, elevators, in parks, at beaches and dance clubs. More frightening, they expose themselves or masturbate in front of us, and, in the extreme, follow us around or threaten us with violence and rape. It’s called Street Harassment and it happens pretty much all over the world.

On today’s show, Crime Prevention Specialist Susan Bartelstone interviews Laura Beth Nielson, author of License to Harass, and Brittany Shoot, from the anti-harassment organization HollabackBoston, and offers ways to safely “holla back” at harassers.