Group: Woman In NYC Catcall Video Receives Rape Threats Online
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The woman featured in a YouTube video being catcalled in New York City is now receiving rape threats online, according to the organization that posted the clip.
The 2-minute video has been viewed more than 7 million times and has received over 40,000 comments, some of which have apparently been threatening in nature.
"The subject of our PSA is starting to get rape threats on the comments. Can you help by reporting them?" Hollaback!, a nonprofit dedicated to ending street harassment, posted on Twitter.
The subject of our PSA is starting to get rape threats on the comments. Can you help by reporting them? http://t.co/NMYCFd9YOm
— Hollaback! (@iHollaback) October 28, 2014
Wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, the woman -- Shoshana Roberts -- was filmed with a hidden camera being catcalled more than 100 times over 10 hours while walking the streets of Manhattan on a day in August, CBS2's Cindy Hsu reported.
"Hello. Good morning. Have a good day, God bless you, all right," one man said before silently walking alongside the woman for up to five minutes.
Another man appears to follow the woman for several blocks saying, "You don't wanna talk? Because I'm ugly, huh? We can't be friends or nothing? You don't speak? If I give you my number would you talk to me? No? I'm too ugly for you?"
The video was posted on YouTube, and Roberts has now received rape threats over social media, CBS2's Hsu reported.
Throughout the PSA, he wanted to highlight the impact of what he called street harassment. He partnered with Hollaback!, which has been fighting this issue for nearly a decade.
"What people don't understand is that as a woman when you walk down the street, you don't know when 'hey baby' or 'hey sexy' is going to escalate to something much, much worse," said Emily May of Hollaback!
1010 WINS' John Montone went to Times Square to discuss the topic and many women expressed annoyance, disgust and fear when men make unsolicited and inappropriate comments.
"They just don't know how to treat women the right way," said a woman in her 20s named Michelle. "Sometimes I ignore it but sometimes I'll talk back, I know my battles. I just tell them to leave me alone."
A female hardhat said her fellow construction workers are the worst, but some men claimed their catcalls are complimentary and said with respect, Montone reported.
A construction worker named Jose, who claims to be happily married, said he tells women, "Good evening, good afternoon or good morning; you look beautiful."
"I think saying, 'Yo, what's up? How you doing?,' You know, yelling at them maybe, but keeping it calm, cool, collected. That's how you do it," one man said.
Meanwhile, Claire Steiner of Hamilton Heights told CBS2's Hsu she gets catcalls two to three times a day.
"It just makes me feel really intimidated and uncomfortable," Steiner said.
One group of friends said a lot of men likely have no idea how scary the comments can be for some women.
"I think it makes women feel threatened and not really safe," one woman said.
"Unfortunately, it happens, and it's disrespectful," added a man in the group, Quang Huynh of the Upper West Side.
One man Shakur Rose, said he use to make comments when he was younger.
"(I would say), 'Hey beautiful,' but I stopped it now," Rose said. He said he stopped because he felt "embarrassed; inappropriate."
Joe Mignon said he used to think his comments were compliments.
"When you're young, it's a cool thing to do," he said. "You see a young girl, 'Hey beautiful,' but when I'm older, no I don't," he said.
Mignon said having a daughter changed everything for him.
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