Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I'm 22 years old and I live at Barcelona. I'm a child educator, and currently studying to become a Speech-Therapist on UAB at Barcelona. On my free-time I like to play Ukelele, sing and draw.
When did you start your account?
I started my account on March 13th, 2019.
Why were you inspired to start an account?
I was tired of being harassed anytime I went out alone or with my friends, it didn’t matter if it was day or night, or if I was “well-dressed” or not, it could happen anytime. I came across @catcallsofnyc at Instagram and I thought it was a good way to help make street harassment visible to those that still think it’s not a real issue. I looked for an account in my city, but since I didn’t find it, I got in touch with Sophie to create one in Barcelona, and that’s how it all started.
Why do you think "Chalking Back" is a good method to raise awareness?
Street harassment is real, but if you’re not there at the moment that it occurs, you won’t see it, and you’ll never know it happened. I guess it’s easier to spread awareness with something people can see when they do their daily activities, like go having a walk, go to the supermarket, shopping... Because street harassment can happen at any time, doing whatever.
Why do you think ending street harassment is important?
We need to feel safe on our own streets. No one should feel that has the right to make anyone feel uncomfortable by any reason: our body, our way of walking, our clothes, our sexuality... aren’t things that people should comment at the street, and even less things to increpate us for.
What is your favorite thing about your city?
Barcelona is a beautiful city, there are many cultural places to visit and it has a lot of history to tell. I love the little streets near Las Ramblas, like Carrer Tallers, where you can find local and antique music stores, where the music of other times is still current and vinyl scent is breathed.
I love the beaches, the multiculturalism that you can feel in the streets, but above all I love that everyday there’s more and more respect for the difference, and it shows.
How can your city better address street harassment?
I think education is the most powerful tool we have. Our children need to be educated in emotional intelligence, respect, empathy ... A subject in which all these topics are discussed since they are small would be a great help, and not only to end street harassment, but also to eradicate many other problems in our society, such as bullying, xenophobia, lgbti+phobia, lack of respect towards animals... Educating in values will help when they grow up and become adults with their own judgment, they’ll be able to respect others, whatever their condition is.
What do you hope is the outcome of your account?
I want it to be a safe space for people, so they can reach out and explain whatever has happened to them, but also to help people to re-think about what street harassment is and the consequences it has on the victims, to help spread awareness and create healthy discussions.
What's the most difficult street harassment situation you've experienced?
When I was about 13 or 14 years old I was having a walk with my girlfriends, it was summer and the weather was so hot. We were spending time together, anything special, just laughing and having fun. Then, we came across a group of 4 guys older than us, like 4 or 5 years older, and they started laughing at us and telling things like “I like the one in the pink t-shirt”, “I prefer the one in red, look at those tits”, “oh boy, have you seen that ass?”. I'm not good at being with my mouth locked at those situations, so I couldn’t help to scream at them to go fork themselves and leave us alone. Then they started to follow us and scream things like “I'm going to fork you so hard you'll have to wear diapers for a week”, “I'm gonna do a bukake to you” ... We didn’t even know what that meant, we were so young...
10. WHAT DOES BEING A PART OF THIS CAMPAIGN MEAN TO YOU?
It feels so incredibly great to see you're a part of something that can help with the issues on our society. I'm grateful to be a part of this movement, it's given me the opportunity to meet a lot of incredible and heart-kinded people from around the world, to share ideas and discuss our opinions ... It's simply amazing.
