I can see what Toots is saying, and to an extent, I agree with her (with the caveat that the woman who is in the situation is the best judge of whether she feels safe speaking up, or feels that it's better to just walk away). Women are, by and large, socialized to be "nice" and "not make a scene." And that can work to our detriment in situations like this.
Sometimes it is best to speak up and say, loudly and firmly, "Leave me alone. I am not interested in talking to you." Not so much from an "educate the creep" perspective as from a "make the rest of the room aware that there's an issue" perspective. Although it seems to me that, if given that message often enough by enough women, some of these guys might start to re-think their approach. Or at least get the message that women aren't being intimidated by them anymore.
I can see the point of ignoring, but I also agree with TootsNYC and Firecat on speaking out against unwanted attention.
Some years ago, a friend of mine related an incident to me. She was alone at a bar, waiting for her friend. Intrusive Stranger approached her and tried to hit on her. She wasn't interested, turned away and ignored him, hoping he would get the message. Intrusive Stranger kept going on though, and his "pick-up" line got more vulgar. She got up from her seat and was about to leave when he grabbed her arm and said "Hey, I'm talking to you.". Friend got a shock and loudly yelled "Let go of me! Leave me alone!", which got the attention of nearby patrons. Intrusive Stranger immediately let go when he saw everyone staring at him, and hurriedly left the table. Friend mentioned a few patrons started giving Intrusive Stranger dirty looks, and a staff approached her after he heard her outburst. Friend explained what happened, but before the staff could ask Intrusive Stranger to leave, he left the bar on his own. The creepy part was during the ordeal, Intrusive Stranger wasn't loud or rough, and he had a smile, so to others, it looked as though he was her friend. No one was sure if there was something off until she loudly called him out.
So for her case, ignoring didn't seem to work, but rather seemed to irritate the Intrusive Stranger. Friend regretted not announcing loudly to please leave her table to begin with, so that Intrusive Stranger would think twice in laying his hand on her when people nearby are aware of his intrusion. We were wondering how he could be so bold to touch her in a room full of people. It was quite likely he was counting on Friend to "not make a scene", so it gave him confidence to harass.
I think it works when there's a crowd. They would not be so daring when their actions are called out for all to be aware. If you're alone however, then maybe it's better to ignore and do your best to leave immediately. Situations will differ, so it's all about your own discretion
