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Friday April 26, 2024

How one girl is fighting street harassers with selfies

By Web Desk
October 06, 2017

Noa Jansma, 20-year-old student from Amsterdam, has been taking selfies and posting them on Instagram with every man who harasses her in the street.

Jansma set up an Instagram account, Dear Catcallers, for her month-long project where she's documented each incident.

In just a month and 30 posts, the account has amassed over 45,000 followers.

Explaining her project, Noa says she wants the project to create awareness for women who've had to put up with it as part of their daily lives. "It's a global problem.”

Noa says she's not trying to "shame" the men; she just wants to "make a statement".

"If these men ask me to take the picture off Instagram, I will do it, because I don't want to ruin their lives," she says.

"It's more like a mirror; they're coming into my privacy on the street in front of everyone, so I'm coming into their privacy."

Having finished her project, Jansma wants to pass on the account to other girls from around the world. The Dutch government is taking action - as from January 1 street harassment will be punishable by a fine of 190€ (£170) in Amsterdam.