People rally around woman dealing with catcalling on her 5-minute walk to store: 'So hard to watch'

If you are a woman residing in any part of America, in this case, Neward, New Jersey, then you must have had at least a couple of scenarios where you have faced invasive and ugly remarks from random men on the street. In such situations, women have limited options to deal with the catcallers. Either one can keep mum and move away or they can engage in verbal spats with the creepy men. Lyssa, a TikTok creator–who goes by @lyssalayinlow on the platform–shared how she encounters numerous men catcalling her while she simply walks to a store that is barely 5 minutes away from her home.

In her viral video, which has gained 2.5M views, Lyssa can be seen wearing a purple sweatshirt and pointing her camera toward the pavement as she walks to the nearest store in order to grab some stuff. But her short walk to the store is not so smooth as many men while passing by, drop crude remarks about her body and even ask her name and business. Lyssa keeps mum and continues to walk towards her destination as the catcaller's words appear on the video as overlay texts.

Some men call her "baby girl" or drive by in their cars while honking their horns to grab Lyssa's attention. A few others compliment her beauty, whereas others are a little more aggressive with their approach when she ignores their unwanted greetings. One person, who is described by Lyssa as an "oldhead," dares to approach her on his bike and park it beside her on the pavement while asking her name. Though we don't see the man's face or Lyssa's reaction, we can still tell how any woman would feel uncomfortable in such a situation.

Catcalling has almost become a norm in modern society, where girls as young as 10 years old are catcalled. According to Girl Scouts of the USA, not only do grown women face creepy comments and unwanted attention, but young girls fall victim to ugly remarks on the street on a regular basis. A study showed two years ago that one in ten American girls had been catcalled before her 11th birthday. A 2017 report shows more than one in six girls in elementary and secondary school have dealt with gender-based harassment.

The TikTok audience was left fuming at the harassment faced by Lyssa, while some users even shared their personal experiences with catcallers. @salembabe_ wrote, "The worst is always when you don't respond to them and they start following you, getting more aggressive with the heys." @rockyb3213 quipped, "You all wanna know what's crazy? You would think it would calm down when you're pregnant, but NO, they still do this, big belly and all!" @da12thman commented, "This is why I tell my fiancée if she is going out by herself, check in with me from time to time if she feels uncomfortable." @jhakarin wrote: "This is so hard to watch, I can't imagine what it's like to live this way. I'm so sorry." @zariaanichelleadded: "The laughing so you don’t panic is so real."

@elysesm1 remarked, "Honestly, this is why I hated where I lived in Brooklyn, even if the guys were nice about it, I just want to be left alone." @luci_trev added, "I've been followed by cars and had a giant water bottle with me once. Screamed, I was gonna take off their side view mirror with it. Sprinted at the car."