Tuesday, September 16:
Number of times: None.
Wednesday, September 17:
Number of times: None
Thursday, September 18:
Number of times: None
Friday, September 19:
Number of times: 3
1.
Time of day: 8:05 p.m.
Location: A residential neighborhood.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? Yes
What happened? A young man standing behind the mall, waiting for someone perhaps, stared at me as I walked by.
2.
Time of day: 10:30 p.m.
Location: In a nightclub (on the weekend the F1 Grand Prix was in Singapore, so there were lots of parties in town).
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? Yes
What happened? A guy in a business shirt—he looked like he was with friends from work—came up to ask how the view was (I was looking out the window), asked me to join his table. When I said no, he asked two other girls nearby.
3.
Time of day: 12:40 a.m.
Location: Outside the Marina Bay Sands casino.
Were you alone? Yes
Was he alone? No
What happened?
Today was a little different as I was covering the night activities surrounding the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix. A young guy in a polo shirt, clowning around with his friends, said, “Hey, how you doing” as I walked by then called “You look hot!” after me.
Saturday, September 20:
Number of times: None
Notes:
Spent all day at a civil society conference partly organized by feminists. Probably not that surprising I didn’t get catcalled then.
Sunday, September 21:
Number of times: None
Monday, September 22:
Number of times: None
What did you take away from this experience?
Looking at my week, it seems as if Singapore is great for women. There are barely any instances of harassment. Unfortunately, I know that my experience isn’t in any way representative of that of another woman in Singapore. Some friends report almost daily harassment: catcalling, heckling, leering, etc. Friends who are ethnic minorities also report that the catcalling often involves some comment on their race (or perceived race).
The way I live and work also factors into things. As a freelancer I don’t have to join in on the crowded, cramped commutes on public transport, where women have reported being groped or molested. I get to take the train or the bus at off-peak times, where there is more personal space and the passengers are sometimes more stay-at-home mums or grandparents picking up grandkids from kindergarten. I also don’t need to work in an office where I might face everyday sexism.
Just some examples of why I would be reluctant to extrapolate too much from my experience!
