Actress and L’Oréal Paris spokeswoman Aja Naomi King is no stranger to street harassment. “The dangerousness of it felt so real, and it made me feel really uncomfortable. It really changed my habits going outside, just how I behaved or what I wore,” she tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. “And that’s not OK. I’m a human being and I deserve to be able to be in any environment — outside or inside, on a bus, train, in a coffee shop, at work. I deserve to exist as I am without anyone trying to impede my confidence or make me feel small, or like they can dominate me.”
It’s part of what led King to get involved with L’Oréal Paris and Right To Be to help fight sexual harassment in public spaces with their Stand Up Against Street Harassment campaign. “I used to just put on headphones every time I went outside and pretend like I couldn’t hear someone. But it would be crazy, the things that people would say in an attempt to get my attention,” she says. “With this initiative, I’ve learned how insanely prevalent it is,” she says.
According to an Ipsos study conducted by L’Oreal Paris in 2021, 80% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces, yet 86% of street harrassment witnesses say there is a lack of training on how to intervene. As we step into International Anti-Street Harassment Week, it’s your chance to help fight it. “It’s become more important than ever for people to have the tools to be able to safely intervene and combat street harassment,” King says. “Especially if you’re someone who’s witnessing it, you can do something. You can help that person.”
L’Oréal Paris and Right To Be’s Stand Up Against Street Harassment initiative spreads awareness about street harassment and provides easy access to straightforward training sessions in-person, online, and at festivals happening throughout the country this year. (The next appearance will be at the Clemson Music Fest on Saturday, April 12 — headliners include Jessie Murph, DaBaby, Huddy, Bryce Vine, and The All-American Rejects — followed by Northwestern University’s Dillo Day on Saturday, May 17.)
“The training is so simple, and once you know how to safely intervene, it’s so empowering,” King says. Part of the training is Right To Be’s 5D’s methodology: Distract the perpetrator, delegate by asking for help, document the harassment, direct by speaking up, and delay by comforting. “My favorite one is Distract. It’s the first D, and that’s the one that I have used on multiple occasions. I’ve seen how easy it is because it doesn’t directly address the harasser. It’s more about intervening on behalf of the person being harassed, but in a way that’s not highlighting the situation they’re involved in, in case that feels dangerous,” King explains.
Whether you participate in L’Oreal’s 10-minute online training, attend an in-person session, or learn the 5D’s methodology, the important thing is that you feel more confident in combatting harassment. “I wish I had known about [the 5D’s] when I was younger, when I was experiencing this on a daily level and felt so uncomfortable going outside by myself,” King says. “It can be so prevalent, witnessing street harassment being on a school campus, at a party, and just knowing what to do. It changes everything to have the feeling of ‘I am not alone in this’.”
King wants people to know that street harassment isn’t your fault. — “It can happen in any environment,” she says. “I hope everyone gets trained, especially during this Anti Street Harassment Week, so you can be a powerful partner in helping to stand up against street harassment, and empower the community around you.”