9 Women Share Their Horrifying Stories Of Unwanted Male Attention At A Young Age

The University of New South Wales has revealed damning research on the prevalence of child sexual abuse by Australian men — and the results are truly horrifying. The nationally representative findings show that 1 in 6 Australian men reported having sexual feelings towards children, 1 in 10 Australian men have sexually abused a child, and 1 in 15 Australian men admit that they would have sexual contact with a child aged 14 or younger if no one was to find out.

The results are shocking, but for many, they're not necessarily surprising. It's a devastating reality that women often know all too well; that seemingly universal experience of being catcalled more frequently as a child wearing a school uniform than as a fully grown adult.

Refinery29 Australia spoke to nine Australian women anonymously, who shared how old they were when they first started receiving negative attention from men. The responses are devastating.