Laura Henshaw was walking down a Melbourne road minding her own business until an offensive act left her feeling incredibly unsafe in her own country

A young woman has revealed the offensive act she was subjected to while minding her own business on a morning walk.

Co-founder and CEO of health and wellness app Kic, Laura Henshaw, was walking along a busy Melbourne road on Monday when she said two men in a car purposely slowed down to yell out comments about her body.

Ms Henshaw said she was initially ‘pissed off’ by the men’s cat-call but was shocked when they repeated the act three more times along an 800m stretch of road.

In a video posted to TikTok, Ms Henshaw said she felt like the first time the men tried to get her attention they ‘almost thought it was a compliment’.

She added that her experience, like that of many women, showed men felt entitled enough to impulsively yell at strangers.

Ms Henshaw said she felt increasingly unsafe as the pair continued to make comments such as ‘you look good’ toward her.

‘Let me tell you, calling me ‘sexy baby’ (from) the car doesn’t make me feel good,’ she told followers.

The young businesswoman said the vile act makes victims feel ‘unsafe … violated … (and) objectified’.

Ms Henshaw hoped the video would reach those who think yelling out to random woman is okay. 

‘Do you think that’s appropriate? It is not,’ she said.

A number of users commented on Ms Henshaw’s post to reveal personal experiences of being catcalled.

‘Happens way too often when I am on walks, I don’t engage but definitely isn’t a nice feeling,’ one user said.  

‘I often don’t feel safe going for runs around my neighbourhood,’ a second wrote. 

‘And when I do, I try and cover up so men don’t stare/say things (because) they have many times before.’

A third said a car circled back three times to yell at her while on a run, adding she ‘had my headphones on so didn’t know what they were saying, but it terrified me’.

Another user said she had hateful comments yelled towards her prior to losing weight.

‘They would always comment such nasty things like ‘fat pig’ and things like that,’ she wrote. 

‘It makes you feel awful.’ 

Ms Henshaw (pictured) said catcalling made women feel unsafe, violated and objectified, while many who commented on her post revealed the act is extremely common

A joint effort between humanitarian organisation, Plan International, and beauty brand L’Oréal introduced in 2022 was designed to help Aussies learn how to intervene and stop street harassment.

It followed a poll of 2,000 Australians in 2022 which found 78 per cent of woman have experienced some form of street harassment in a public space.

‘Women, girls and gender diverse people have normalised and internalised street harassment for far too long,’ Susanne Legena, CEO of Plan International Australia, said at the time.

‘Unwanted sexual behaviour is not a compliment, it is a crime. 

‘Every person – especially young people – deserves to be free, safe and equal in their city and that will only happen when we can eliminate street harassment for good.’

One of the program’s advocates, Angelica Ojjnnaka, said women who have been harassed start to change how they act in public.

‘Some of us stop going out at night, or only go out with another person, some avoid public transport, some change the way we dress, or carry our keys gripped tightly in our hands,’ she said.