Street harassment
[2] The practice is rooted in power and control and is often a reflection of societal discrimination,[2] and has been argued to sometimes result from a lack of opportunities for expression of interest or affection (e.g. an inability to have social interaction).
The emergence of new shopping districts near the West End caused many middle-class women to walk through traditionally male-dominated neighborhoods to purchase the latest goods.
[6] According to Walkowtiz, the public's perception of street harassment was shaped by the middle-class women who were the new subjects of this courtship practice, which was perceived to be far too casual and informal to be proper.
Canadian and Egyptian studies show that the rate of incidence is approximately 85% of women experiencing street harassment in the past year.
For women, the most common harassment was catcalling, followed by comments on body parts, unwanted touching or brushing up against, and then sexual slurs like "bitch" or "slut".
[24] Research from Patrick McNeil at George Washington University in 2014 showed that 90% of participants in his survey of gay and bisexual men said that they felt "unwelcome in public because of their sexual orientation.
[29] In a municipality near Barcelona, called Santa Coloma de Grammet, awareness days were planned for 400 staff who have regular interactions with passengers.
[33] Some scholars deem that comments and conduct of a harasser reduce women to sexual objects and force this perception upon his target.
[33] Women assess their surroundings, restrict choices of clothing, wear headphones, choose to exercise inside, and avoid certain neighborhoods or routes as proactive measures to reduce the chance of being harassed.
The researchers explain that "young men with secondary-level education were more likely to sexually harass women than their older, less-educated peers".
[38] Australian reporter Eleanor Gordon-Smith recorded interactions in the 2010s in Kings Cross, New South Wales, and found that men who catcalled women enjoyed getting attention, flirting, and the public performance.
The vast majority of women in the area, in contrast, found such conduct degrading, wished they could avoid it, and worried that it could escalate into a physical assault.
In conversation with one man in particular who perceived his catcalling to be welcome based on his experience, Gordon-Smith pointed out that women may feel pressured to play along and pretend to enjoy the attention as a means of de-escalating the situation, fearing the response their honest reaction could provoke.
Author Elizabeth Arveda Kissling's research reveals that many female tourists traveling in different countries witness forms of street harassment that are seemingly less severe such as wolf-whistling and following and they consider those actions as ego-boosters rather than an inconvenience.
[41] The vast majority of women in the Kings Cross area study found such conduct degrading, wished they could avoid it, and worried that it could escalate into a physical assault.
[13] As mentioned above, Gordon-Smith pointed out a reason for the difference may be that pretending to enjoy the attention was one way to avoid provoking an escalation which could lead to a physical attack.
[39] The U.S. survey found 31% of women responded by going out with other people instead of alone, and 4% of all victims made a major life change to avoid harassment, like moving or quitting a job.
Brazilians see sexual tendencies as an innocent, friendly and harmless romantic behavior, while Americans view it as a form of aggression, hierarchy, and abuse.
[45] The mainstream media has been criticized for representing sexual and street harassment using overly simplified narratives, framing issues as a reflection of individual aberration, usually highlighting aspects of misconduct by one party against another.
As with other forms of oppression against women, the language presented by media sources commonly undermines the validity of street harassment complaints.
During the third week in April, people from around the globe participated in "marches, rallies, workshops, and sidewalk chalkings" in an effort to gain attention for the issue.
[56] A 2016 study in The British Journal of Criminology examines the extent to which online sites serve as a form of informal justice for street harassment victims.
[57] Plan International UK launched a campaign in 2018 called #ISayItsNotOk to stop the street harassment of girls and raise public awareness of the issue.
This campaign has gotten a lot of public attention and has made girls and women in the UK share their stories of street harassment.
[60] Plan International UK and Our Streets Now partnered in late November 2020 to create the #CrimeNotCompliment campaign and make public sexual harassment a crime.
In 2018, a 36-year-old man from Rotterdam was convicted to paying two fines of 100 euros by a district judge (kantonrechter) for sexually harassing 8 women on the street.
In December 2019, the Court of Appeals in The Hague considered that sexual harassment had been proven, but was not illegal because the local laws were unconstitutional per Article 7 (Freedom of Expression) of the Dutch Constitution.
Only the House of Representatives and the Senate are allowed to make laws (on a national level) that restrict parts of the Constitution; the municipalities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam did not have that authority, and so the earlier ruling was overturned.
Although a perpetrator is legally allowed to shout obscenities, other acts such as public indecency and sexual assault are blatant violations of the law.
[72] In a series of interviews conducted by Laura Beth Nielson in 2000, regarding the attitudes of the public in relation to the law and street harassment, four paradigms were offered.
