Man stabbed by girlfriend's catcaller aims to end catcalling

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - A San Francisco man who was stabbed after confronting a man who was catcalling his girlfriend says street harassment needs to stop.

Ben Schwartz, 31, suffered life-threatening injuries in the stabbing, which took place in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood at around 4:45 a.m. on Nov. 15, reports the SF Gate newspaper.

Authorities say Schwartz was walking home with his girlfriend when the suspect began catcalling her. Schwartz confronted the suspect and an argument ensued, ending with the suspect stabbing Schwartz multiple times with a knife, police say. No arrests have been made.

Schwartz told the paper the suspect was making rude and vulgar statements such as, "I'll show you how a real man treats a woman," and much worse.

"When we tried to get away from the situation and cross the street, we were followed and the harassment got even more intense," Schwartz said. "I was scared for me. I was scared for my girlfriend. I told her to stay on one side of the street, and I went to tell him to stop."

That's when the man stabbed Schwartz in the face, neck, arms and back, even puncturing a lung. He was stabbed a total of nine times, according to the paper.

Schwartz said he hopes people can learn from his experience and understand that street harassment is not harmless. He says it should get the same amount of attention given to bullying in recent years.

"Girls walk down the street every day and have guys saying things to them, and if a girl denies that or shows some sort of aggression toward that, that can bring violence and that can bring unwarranted things," he told the paper.

Last month, a hidden-camera social experiment looking at the harassment some women face when they walk down the street went viral.

The video showed Shoshana Roberts, a young New York City woman, getting bombarded by more than 100 comments from strangers in just a 10-hour period.

Authorities are still working to make arrest in Schwartz's stabbing. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police at (415) 553-0123.