Anti-harassment video of Pittsburgh CAPA grad goes viral

A video to raise awareness of street harassment, featuring a Pittsburgh CAPA graduate, has gone viral with more than 7 million YouTube views since Tuesday morning.

For more than 10 hours, Shoshana Roberts, 24, walks in New York City as part of a hidden-camera experiment. She is spoken to more than 100 times by male strangers, with numerous greetings, comments on her appearance and one stretch where a man walks closely next to her for five full minutes.

The two-minute video, made by the group Hollaback! to raise awareness of street harassment, has attracted international attention since it was published on Tuesday. It is currently featured online on CNN, The Washington Post and many other news sites.

“This is a typical day for me,” said Ms. Roberts, noting that in the video she walked in neighborhoods such as Soho, Midtown, the Upper West Side and Harlem -- all places she would go in her everyday life. “A lot of the feedback I’ve heard is that this happens to so many other people. My story is not unique.”

Ms. Roberts, who graduated in 2008 from the musical theater program at Pittsburgh CAPA and graduated as a drama major in 2012 from Kutztown University, now works as an actress in New York City. In the video she wears jeans and a black T-shirt and is filmed by a man walking in front of her, with a camera hidden in his backpack.

She is the daughter of Post-Gazette photographer Larry Roberts.

On the video, she ignores all comments, which range from the ordinary “What’s up” to the appearance-focused “Hey baby” and “Hey beautiful.” One man says “Sexy, American Eagle,” referencing the brand on the back pocket of her jeans, while another attempts to give her his number. Not pictured on the video are whistles and pelvic thrusts in her direction, she said.

The video was the brainchild of Rob Bliss, who witnessed the harassment that his girlfriend endured every day on the street and partnered with Hollaback! to spread awareness about it. Ms. Roberts saw a request for an actress posted on a friend’s Facebook page and volunteered.

“I am so fed up, that’s why I wanted to get involved,” she said on the phone Wednesday, while waiting at 30 Rockefeller Center for an interview for Meredith Vieira. “It’s exhausting -- one comment alone is one thing but the barrage interrupts my daily life. I’ve been catcalled on my way to a religious event. I’ve been catcalled when I found out my grandfather died.”

She has done interviews ranging from the BBC to Al Jezeera, and is scheduled to be interviewed for NBC’s “Today” show tomorrow morning.

The harassment is not a situation that’s unique to New York City, said Ms. Roberts, noting that she was catcalled “every day after school” when she was a high school student Downtown at Pittsburgh CAPA.

The video sparked more than 40,000 comments on YouTube and more than 5,000 on Slate, with many criticizing the video, arguing that the comments were just compliments. Others described their own experiences with unwanted sexual attention, saying that it was psychologically difficult to even walk to and from their workplaces.

“These people clearly had ulterior motives,” said Ms. Roberts, of the men making comments. “They weren’t saying hello to the man behind me.”

Ms. Roberts said that as a victim of sexual assault in the past, she is often scared when receiving unwanted attention on the street -- even with 15 years of martial arts training and a black belt in taekwondo. “Because of my past, I know you never know when it’s going to escalate.”

Hollaback!, founded in 2011, defines street harassment as “a form of sexual harassment that takes place in public spaces.” The video aims to raise money to encourage more people to speak up about street harassment. Hollaback! is an international organization but this is their first video public service announcement.

Emily May, executive director and co-founder of Hollaback! notes that sexual harassment in the workplace has been discussed for decades. “We’ve fought it in the workplace and decided as a society that it’s not acceptable,” she said. “This is the next frontier.”

Anya Sostek: asostek@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1308.