“Dude, can I have my walk in peace?”

With cold weather in not-so-sunny London, walks have been my only time to decompress, whether that meant a walk with my roommate or a walk alone as I listened to a podcast or a meditation on Headspace.

A walk was really all I could go outside for, other than getting groceries so I’m sure you can imagine my disdain when a gentleman (not so gently) yelled from his car. I couldn’t hear him, but I saw his aggressive smirk. It was clearly a catcall, but I brushed it off and he drove by.

The second time around, he drove by, he said “Hey let me ask you a question girl.” I kept walking and felt beads of sweat underneath my mask now. Can this guy take a hint? Still, he was simply driving by so I kept walking just a bit more swiftly. Now, I was on edge and paused my meditation.

In September, the UK’s Law Commision called for misogyny to be made into a hate crime in England and Wales. Sisters Maya and Gemma Tutton, founders of Our Streets Now, aim to end public sexual harassment through cultural and legislative change. Their #CrimeNotCompliment campaign with Plan International UK is calling on Parliament to make Public Sexual Harassment a criminal offence.

Maya explained that a huge reason it goes unreported and unpunished is because the laws are ‘piecemeal, inadequate and ineffective’. So when it happens to me all the time, I simply swallow my pride at the intrusive behavior because what gets accomplished from raising my voice?

I crossed the street as my brother Facetimed me. I looked up from my phone and this man pulled into a school parking lot, A SCHOOL parking lot, yes. No mask, no nothing, this man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties was following me. A swarm of anxiety flushed over me. My brother asked what’s wrong, and I replied “This guy won’t leave me alone.”

My brother said he would stay on the phone with me. The man drove his car right in front of me and we were face to face. Feet from each other. I looked away and tuned out what he said. I just turned away, started walking faster and said I wasn’t interested. As I continued walking home, I kept looking back to see where he was. The next day, I checked behind me and flinched every time I saw a silver car drive by. All of the sudden, my once peaceful hour of meditation and mindfulness was tainted. And if there’s a time when people need to keep their mental health in check, it’s now.

Our Street’s Now’s latest research shows one in five girls have experienced public sexual harassment during the first national lockdown, in which they could leave their homes for an hour each day. And for the girls who have experienced harassment during the lockdown period, one in five have said it has gotten only worse.

Maya said: “Girls are saying it’s harder to deal with, even if it’s at the same level as they would normally experience, as there are fewer people about and fewer places for them to go to seek help. Social distancing also means they’re more likely to be on their own than in groups. It’s not okay that girls are having to deal with this at such a difficult time. Now more than ever, every city, park and public space should be safe for girls and young women.”

I know I’m not the only woman who feels a little nervous because it’s dark and past midnight while walking home, or notices when I get a lot more catcalls when I’m wearing yoga pants than wearing sweatpants. It’s uncomfortable, plain and simple. I really am fed up with feeling objectified on a daily basis, with catcalls and men creepily coming up to me - even after I make it clear their advances are unwanted.

Maya concluded: “This is why we call on the government to support the draft bill. Supporting legislative change would allow them to deliver on existing government commitments, address weaknesses in the legal safeguarding framework, make progress on the UK’s existing international law obligations to protect women and girls and address significant data gaps.”