Feeling Harassed in Rockford? Take a Lesson from Lima, Peru
Most of us are familiar with the stereotype of a woman walking down a street, minding her own business, only to find herself the object of whistles, comments, and other forms of harassment by male construction workers and/or various other men she encounters. Maybe you've seen it here in Rockford.
There have been numerous public service campaigns launched all over the world to teach men not to behave like that, and to show women how to react and defend against it, but it still continues in many places.
One place where this sort of bad behavior is firmly entrenched would be Lima, Peru. Peru's capital city is home to some 8.4 million people, and according to a recent study there, over one-third of the women who live in Lima say they are constantly harassed on the city's streets. Many of the women say it's a desperate situation.
Well, desperate times call for desperate measures (said someone who gets quoted a lot). In Lima, a group of women who are sick and tired of the treatment they receive from men on the streets have brought in the big guns.
They've called for help from....moms. Where public service announcements and angry reactions have failed to move the needle, Lima's mothers are getting it done.
Whether it's Rockford, Illinois, or Lima, Peru, you don't mess with your mom.