While catcalling in Central America considered to be “threatening and aggressive”, according to alexinwanderland.com, this kind of behavior is no exception in Southeast Asia. Most people believe that in Southeast Asia countries, it’s a rare thing to be catcalled in public. What people failed to realise is that just because you don’t “see” it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
For example, recently in South China Morning Post it is stated that Chinese Women don’t speak out about sexual harassment. The reason behind it was various, ranging from worry of what society will think of them, to no further actions will take place as a punishment to the perpetrator. It’s terrible really to think that in most Asian countries, some women are still afraid to address the issue. Like it or not, catcalling is considered to be sexual harassment.
In some cases, women are not the only victim to catcalling. Like in Thailand, an Australian traveler shared his experiences of being catcalled as well as followed by the ladyboys there. He finds the experience to be quite horrifying and uncomfortable. This resulted in him becomes more understanding as well as sympathizing to what women went through when they’re being catcalled.
The good news is that the community has helped a lot in educating women to speak up, and this has been acknowledged by New York Times in their article of “In Indonesia, Women to Fight ‘Epidemic’ of Street Harassment”. These women has shown a lot of courage to address the issue, and letting other women know that it’s okay to speak up. That, women don’t have to be afraid to be judged by what the society might think of them, and the most important thing is for women to stay safe. This too has been acknowledged by Indonesian governments that public transports have been facilitated to maintain the safety of women from sexual harassment. One of the example is that you can find a special zone reserved exclusively for women in trains and public bus.
Knowing all of this, it’s safe to say that the society is moving in the right direction to help women feel at peace. Of course, there’s still a lot to be done regarding this issue and still a long way to go. It begins with a small step, but it’s something worth celebrating.