Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Lucie, I'm 21 years old and I study law in Hannover, Germany. Also I like cats, plants and food.
When did you start your account?
Lisanne started catcallsofhannover and I walked over one of her first chalks, so I joined her this summer (2019)!
Why were you inspired to start an account?
I followed catcallsofnyc for a long time and really loved what they are doing, so I was super happy to realize it spread all over the world and also reached Hannover.
Why do you think “chalking back” is a good method to raise awareness?
Chalking back is an awesome way to rise awareness! It's peaceful and grabs a lot of attention. Everyone has to stop and read what was said or done to someone so they have to spend a least a few moments of their day with the awful things that happen. I mean, people that are harassed lose this moment of their life to someone disgusting, it might ruin their day or even week or stay with them for longer. Still, at least one moment is spend with listening to the catcall. So it's a good idea to have people spend one moment of their day to read that catcall. They will have to realize this is still an everyday problem for a lot of people.
Why do you think ending street harassment is important?
Everyone has the right to live peacefully without being harassed. I don't really know what more to say. It's as obvious as ending violence, murder, rape, war; it's a crime. Nobody, nowhere should be harassed. If it's happening against the will of the person, or you don't know the will of the person, don't do it. We all have the right to live in peace together without having to fear being oppressed, harassed or attacked.
what’s your favorite thing about your city?
Hannover is really green and we have a lot of kiosks (which are the things Hannover are known for in Germany). It's like a village but the size of a small city, I love going to the supermarket and seeing the same 30 people I don't know but whom I always see when buying there :)
How can your city better address street harassment?
I don't think it's being addressed in any way so maybe we could start there... Featuring the issue in newspapers or other news outlets or having a day to rise awareness would be a good way to start. Also educating young people about what is allowed and what's not and what should be forbidden or why something is not forbidden yet and how to behave is really important in my opinion.
What do you hope is the outcome of your account?
I hope we can not only rise awareness that street harassment is a part of everyday life for so many people but also encourage the people who are harassed to address this as a problem. A lot of my friends get harassed and consider it normal and don't talk about it. I hope we can encourage many people to share their experiences or to at least talk to someone about them. If we help at least one person to feel better, or if we can change at least one person to never catcall again, then I'm more then happy! :)
what’s the most difficult street harassment situation you’ve experienced?
I'm really lucky and have not experienced many street harassment situations myself! The ones I've experienced mostly made me feel sad, since most of them were homophobic comments me and my girlfriend received. This happens every time we are outside together and it makes me realize how much we, as a society still have to grow and change.
