Well, I think this comment sums up exactly the kind of person who has caused the distress that women in this comment section have spent 184 comments commiserating over. Congratulations.

Hey George, not sure what those gender equality rankings take into account but its hard to believe any country with such a strong machismo country would break the top ten. I’ve traveled Southeast Asia extensively and street harassment is incredibly rare here — essentially unheard of. I think in the end, your girlfriend will have to be the one to decide how comfortable she feels and how free she feels to move around a new city alone (and I promise you, street harassment doesn’t hurt you as much as it hurts the woman it’s happening to — though I do understand it can be shocking and upsetting for men to witness, too.)

I am trying to move to Central or South America with my blonde girlfriend and had tilted Nicaragua but this scares me. It hurts the bf as much as the gf because your connected and can empathize and want to protect. I wouldn’t be able to let her do things alone, is that such a life? Your really still happy there through this? Have you been anywhere in the area where you’ve felt respected? Nicaragua is supposedly 6th in the world for gender equality so it’s only the sexual predator aspect at least 🙁

Maybe this is one thing to look forward to about getting older! Hadn’t thought about that as nature’s unstoppable tactic, but I agree it’s probably pretty effective 😉

Hey Tara! Awesome to hear the insight of a local. You have great advice — I’m guessing you do all that in Spanish. I need to get to the point where I am fluent enough to feel comfortable doing so! Thanks also for giving the names of some groups to support!

I live in Granada and I never put up with harassment. I find that exploding doesn’t work as well as facing them and asking why they need to harass women. I also ask them if they would like this to happen to their mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, girlfriends. I tell that it is against the law and to never do it again or I will call the police. If they are Nicaraguense they are usually embarrassed.

Today I ran into those same disgusting old gringo types you mention — they were catcalling a Nicaraguan teenage girl, which made me sick — just another form of US colonization. When I said the same thing to them, they called me a bitch and got in my face yelling at me. I told them that women on the street were not their property and I spoke with the manager at the bar where they were sitting.

FYI, there are Nicaraguan women’s groups, like Grupo Venancia up North in Matagalpa that fight this and other forms of rape culture on a daily basis — doing protests, humiliating men who do harass, passing legislation, etc. We need to keep calling people out. And we need to tell them to call other men out who do it — it is their problem, not ours.

Interesting that multiple people have given this advice now in this comment section. I feel well prepared now if I ever head to Japan! Thank you!