The difference is a compliment is a fucking compliment.

Rape and hostile work environment is not even in the same ballpark.

If someone is harassing you at work on a daily basis, it's a hostile work environment by definition - it's not just a compliment.

Please realize that there is a difference between someone saying "I like your new haircut!" and someone telling you "you look really pretty" every single day.

We all recognize that there's a difference.

We all know that catcalling is obnoxious.

We all know that the guy who rolls the dice every friday night by blatantly hitting on women at the bar hoping he'll get lucky is an asshole.

All I'm saying is a dude was talking to his friend in confidence and said a girl had a nice ass. She wasn't supposed to hear it - he wasn't saying it to her - he wasn't demeaning her intentionally in any way.

In other words, she should take it as a one off compliment - she shouldn't feel unsafe.

If she's not attracted to him, now he knows it for sure!

If she is, now she can tell him she is.

That's all normal and not at all ridiculous, unsafe feeling, or weird.