Sexual Harassment?

There’s a campaign making the rounds on Facebook to encourage Lebanese women to replace the word تلطيش (catcalling) with the word تحرش جنسي (sexual harassment).

While I find catcalling crass, vulgar and annoying, and while I understand that rape is a really serious issue in Lebanon that needs to be addressed more publicly, I find it a bit extreme and wrong to call it sexual harassment.

Catcalling is made in the middle of daylight by douchebags who probably don’t dare touch a woman, and their calls are sometimes more goofy and humorous than sexual. To many men who don’t know any better, it’s their way of giving a compliment. Rape and sexual assault on the other hand are committed by dangerous psychopaths who lurk in the dark.

Shame and embarrass the catcallers if you want. But calling their action “sexual harassment” risks diluting the meaning of this very serious term.