In this section, we highlight some of the states laws we think could best apply to street harassment, what elements we think could strengthen other state laws, and conclude by exploring what legal scholars have said about creating a specific anti-street harassment law.
The Best Laws
There are many states with good laws; these laws are the ones that stood out to us as being potential models for other states. Thus, this list is not exhaustive.
Verbal Harassment | Unlawful Recording/Filming | Indecent Exposure |
Obstructing Your Path | Following | Groping | Hate Crimes
Please note, we are not lawyers or legal scholars, so our list of best laws comes from the perspective of advocates and women who have been frequently street harassed. Not everyone may agree with this, and that is fine! If you have suggestions for which law(s) you think best address street harassment, please contact us.
Verbal Harassment
The following are 20 examples of laws that do a good job of addressing at least some forms of street harassment.
Arizona
Harassment
Title 13, Chap. 29 §2921
Under Arizona’s harassment law it is illegal for anyone to communicate with you in a harassing manner or to repeatedly commit an act or acts that harass you. The statute defines harassment as “conduct that is directed at a specific person and that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed and the conduct in fact seriously alarms, annoys or harasses the person.”
This is a fairly broad law that should cover many types of street harassment. If someone is speaking to you or doing some other action that seriously alarms or annoys you, you can report him/her.
California
Harassment on Public Transportation
Title 15, Chap. 2 §640
California code identifies a number of “miscellaneous offenses” that can protect you from harassment on public transportation. It is unlawful to do any of the following on public transportation:
* Disturb another person by making loud or unreasonable noise.
* Willfully disturb others on or in a system facility or vehicle by engaging in boisterous or unruly behavior.
* Willfully block the free movement of another person.
* Expectorate (spit) upon a system facility or vehicle.
If a harasser is excessively boisterous or loud, such as shouting at you, blocks your path, or spits at you while you’re on public transportation, you can report him/her.
Colorado
Unlawful Conduct on Public Property
Title 18, Article 9, §117
In Colorado, supervisors, managers, and administrators of public property and spaces have the power to proscribe the acceptable conduct within that public space. Their rules for the use of the space are enforceable by law if s/he are posted publicly, including rules that prohibit “activities or conduct within public buildings or on public property which may be reasonably expected to substantially interfere with the use and enjoyment of such places by others or which may constitute a general nuisance.”
Under this section of Colorado code, administrators of public parks, schools, libraries, hospitals, transportation, government buildings, and other public property can (and may already) prohibit acts of street harassment or establish and enforce Harassment Free Zones. Check the posted rules in public venues. If it is illegal, you can report it. If there are no rules against harassment, consider raising the issue with the owners/managers of public spaces.
Florida
Breach of the Peace and Disorderly Conduct
Title XLVI, Chap. 877 §3
Florida’s breach of peace and disorderly conduct law is quite broad and it includes acts that “outrage the sense of public decency,” affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them, and constitute a breach of the peace or disorderly conduct.
Many examples of street harassment could fall into these categories, such as shouting, homophobic or transphobic slurs, or lewd or sexually explicit comments, and you can report that person.
Hawai’i
Harassment
Title 37 §711-1106
In Hawai’i, it is illegal for anyone, with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm you, to:
* Repeatedly communicate with you after you have told him or her to stop.
* Insult, taunt, or challenge you, or use offensive language toward you in way that makes you reasonably believe the harasser will cause you bodily harm.
* Strike, shove, kick, or otherwise touch you in an offensive way or subject you to offensive physical contact.
You can report street harassers who threaten you, use inappropriate language, physically touch you, or repeatedly ask for your name/number or to go out with you after you have told the person to stop.
Iowa
Harassment
Title XVI, Subtitle 1, Chap. 708 §708.7
Iowa law prohibits an encounter “in which two or more people are in visual or physical proximity to each other” and one person, “purposefully and without legitimate purpose,” intentionally threatens, intimidates, or alarms the other person.
A threatening, intimidating, or alarming action could include:
* Verbal harassment
- Insults
- Obscene or explicit language
- Racial, homophobic, or transphobic slurs
If a street harasser does something that is clearly threatening, intimidating, or alarming, you can report him/her.
Louisiana
Disturbing the Peace
§14.103
Louisiana’s law against disturbing the peace prohibits a number of actions, including the most common street harassment behaviors. The relevant section reads:
“Disturbing the peace is the doing of any of the following in such manner as would foreseeably disturb or alarm the public: […] Addressing any offensive, derisive, or annoying words to any other person who is lawfully in any street, or other public place; or call him [or her] by any offensive or derisive name, or make any noise or exclamation in his presence and hearing with the intent to deride, offend, or annoy him, or to prevent him from pursuing his lawful business, occupation, or duty.”
Essentially, if you are lawfully in a public place, you have the right to be free from offensive verbal harassment. If someone insults you, uses obscene language toward you, or otherwise verbally harasses you or prevents you from pursuing the business of your day, you can report him or her for disturbing the peace in Louisiana.
Massachusetts
Disorderliness in Public Conveyances & Disturbance of Travelers
Title 1, Chap. 272 §43
Massachusetts law prohibits disorderly conduct and disturbing or annoying passengers by using “profane, obscene or indecent language, or by indecent behavior” on public transportation and “conveyances” in general that are open to the public.
If someone is harassing you on public transportation, you can report him/her.
Michigan
Undesired and Unwelcome Accosting – Detroit
Part III, Chap. 38, Article IX, §6
In the city of Detroit, it’s illegal for anyone to continue to accost someone after that person has asked him or her to stop or has reasonably and clearly communicated that continuing to accost him/her is undesired and unwelcome.
The city law defines accosting as “the act of approaching and communicating, by word, gesture, or any other means, with another person or persons without having been communicated to first.”
If a street harasser approaches you and speaks to you, and you do not want him or her to, you have the right to tell him or her to stop and to report him or her for accosting you if s/he does not stop. If you feel safe to do so, you can say clearly to the harasser “Stop harassing me,” “Stop talking to me,” or make it known in some other way that his or her attention is undesired. If the harassment does not stop, you have the right to report it to the police.
Montana
Disturbing the Public Peace
Okla. Stat. Title 21, § 22
Willfully engaging in acts that “outrage public decency” or “grossly disturbs the public peace” is illegal in Oklahoma.
Many actions and comments of street harassers make could qualify as outraging public decency when they involve sexually explicit remarks, sexual demands, and/or insults. If a street harasser is using this kind of indecent language toward you, you can report him/her.
Nevada
Offenses in Public Conveyances
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 203.100
It is illegal in Nevada for anyone to “use profane, offensive or indecent language or engage in any quarrel in any public conveyance, or interfere with or annoy any passenger therein.
If someone is using inappropriate language or harassing you on public transportation or on any bus, railroad, or other conveyance open to the public, you can report him/her.
New Jersey
Disorderly Conduct
Title 2C, Chap. 33 §2
It is considered disorderly conduct in New Jersey for anyone to purposefully “offend the sensibilities of the hearer” by addressing “unreasonably loud and offensively coarse or abusive language” at a specific person in a public place.
New Jersey’s disorderly conduct law also prohibits:
* Fighting
* Making threats
* Engaging in violent or tumultuous (noisy or uproarious) behavior
* Creating a hazardous or physically dangerous condition in a public place with the intent to “cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm”
If a street harasser is yelling at you, threatening you, using offensive or abusive language, or otherwise making a scene, you can report him/her.
New Jersey
Harassment
Title 2C, Chap. 33 §4
New Jersey’s law against general harassment prohibits:
* Communicating with another person using offensively coarse language.
* Subjecting someone to offensive physical contact, striking or kicking, or threatens to do so.
* Engaging in another course of conduct meant to alarm or seriously annoy the person.
If a street harasser uses sexually explicit language, follows you, threatens you, touches you in an offensive way, blocks your path or tries to keep you from leaving a space, you can report him/her.
New York
Disorderly Conduct
Title N, Article 240 §20
New York State has a broad law against “disorderly conduct;” prohibited actions relevant to street harassment include:
* Fighting or violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior.
* Unreasonable noise.
* Abusive or obscene language or obscene gestures in a public place.
* Obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
* Congregating with a group in a public place and refusing to comply with a lawful police officer’s order to disperse.
* Creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition by an act that serves no legitimate purpose.
Examples of street harassment that might be considered disorderly conduct in New York include yelling sexist or homophobic comments, using obscene, offensive, or lewd language, or someone blocking your path on the sidewalk or in the street. If you experience any of these, you can report the harasser.
North Dakota
Disorderly Conduct
N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-01
North Dakota’s disorderly conduct law encompasses several types of street harassment. Under the law, it is illegal for anyone to:
* Make intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that are intended to adversely affect the safety, security, or privacy of another person.
* Persistently follow a person around a public place
* Solicit sexual contact
* Use abusive or obscene language
* Make an obscene gesture
*Flash someone
* Make unreasonable noise.
If a street harasser is being excessively loud, such as shouting, or says or does anything that is obscene (including using sexual explicit language), follows you, or invades your privacy (such as persistently asking for your phone number, name, or a date after you’ve said no), you can report that person.
Ohio
Disorderly Conduct
Title 29, Chapter 2917 § 11
Ohio’s disorderly conduct law prohibits people from:
* Making unreasonable noise.
* Making an offensively course utterance or gesture.
* Preventing someone from moving along a public street or from entering/leaving a public or private property.
If a harasser is using sexually explicit or other offensive language, taunting you, shouting loudly at you, or stops you from using the sidewalk or entering a store or another public place, you can report him/her.
Oklahoma
Disturbing the Public Peace
Okla. Stat. Title 21, § 22
Willfully engaging in acts that “outrage public decency” or “grossly disturbs the public peace” is illegal in Oklahoma.
Many actions and comments of street harassers make could qualify as outraging public decency when they involve sexually explicit remarks, sexual demands, and/or insults. If a street harasser is using this kind of indecent language toward you, you can report him/her.
Pennsylvania
Harassment
Title 18, Chapter 27, § 2709
In Pennsylvania, the general harassment law includes a variety of actions. The following prohibited conduct is relevant to street harassment, if done with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another:
* Following someone in or about a public place.
* Striking, shoving, kicking or otherwise subjecting someone to physical contact, or attempting or threatening to do so.
* Engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts which serve no legitimate purpose.
* Communicating to or about someone any lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words, language, drawings or caricatures.
This statute defines “course of conduct” as “a pattern of actions composed of more than one act over a period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of conduct.”
If a harasser follows you, uses sexually explicit or obscene language, has some physical contact with you, or repeatedly commits acts which serve no legitimate purpose, you can report that person.
Vermont
Disorderly Conduct
Title 13, Chapter 19, § 1026
In Vermont, it is illegal for anyone to:
* Use abusive or obscene language.
* Make unreasonable noise.
* Engage in violent or threatening behavior in a public place with the intent of causing a public inconvenience or annoyance.
Many types of street harassment could qualify as disorderly conduct, such as harassers shouting at you, making lewd or sexually explicit comments, making abusive remarks like “fat cow,” or “ugly dyke,” or making threats to follow or assault someone. If someone is verbally harassing you in this way, you can report him/her.
Wyoming
Equal Enjoyment of Public Accommodations and Facilities
Title 6, Chapter, §101
The state of Wyoming guarantees full and equal enjoyment of all public agencies or place that invite the patronage of the public to everyone, as long as they are not doing anything illegal or otherwise misbehaving. No one can be denied entry or discriminated against based on his/her race, religion, color, sex, or national origin.
If someone is preventing you from going to or using a public space because of these reasons, whether directly (“People of your kind aren’t allowed in”) or because s/he is generally harassing you or others on the premises and this makes you unwilling to return, you can report that person to the police. For example, men may not harass women entering a corner store, making them unwilling to return, or at a public basketball court to keep women from playing there.
Unlawful Filming & Photography
Hawai’i
Violation of Privacy in the Second Degree
Title 37 § 711-1111
In Hawai’i, the following is illegal:
1. Photograph or film a person without his/her consent if that person is partially or fully undressed or engaged in sexual activity in a private place.
If a harasser films or photographs you someplace like public restrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms, you can report him/her.
2. Photograph or film the intimate areas of a person’s body underneath his/her clothing while the person is in a public place.
If a street harasser takes an up-skirt or down-blouse photo of you, or otherwise observes or photographs you in an inappropriate way, you can report him/her.
New Hampshire
Violation of Privacy
§644:9
It is illegal in New Hampshire for anyone to observe, photograph, or record the private parts of a non-consenting person’s body either underneath clothing, or in a private place where one should reasonably expect privacy.
The law states that the private parts of your body include “the genitalia, buttocks, or female breasts, or a person’s body underneath that person’s clothing.”
If a harasser films or photographs you someplace like public restrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms, and/or if a street harasser takes an up-skirt or down-blouse photo of you, or otherwise observes or photographs you in an inappropriate way, you can report him/her.
New Mexico
Voyeurism
Chap. 30, Article 9 §20
It is illegal in New Mexico for anyone to intentionally “view, photograph, videotape, film, webcast or record the intimate areas” of a non-consenting person’s body.
The intimate areas include a person’s naked or undergarment-clad genital area, groin, buttocks, anus or breasts.
This law applies in spaces where you might undress, such as a restroom, fitting room, or tanning booth, as well as when you have a reasonable expectation of privacy, whether in a public or private place.
If a street harasser attempts to view, photograph, or record you inappropriately, or is taking “up-skirt” or “down-blouse” photos of you, you can report him/her.
New York
Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree
Title N, Article 250 § 45
In New York, it is illegal for someone to intentionally photograph or film:
* A non-consenting person if it exposes that person’s sexual or intimate parts or the person is dressing or undressing, and if it is done under circumstances when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.
If a harasser films or photographs you someplace like public restrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms, you can report him/her.
* A non-consenting person under the clothing that person is wearing.
If a street harasser takes an up-skirt or down-blouse photo of you, or otherwise observes or photographs you in an inappropriate way, you can report him/her.
Virginia
Unlawful Filming, Videotaping, or Photographing of Another
§ 18.2-386.1
In Virginia, it is illegal to position a recording device directly beneath or between a person’s legs to film or photograph the person’s intimate parts or underwear when it would not otherwise be visible and when the person should reasonably expect privacy.
If a harasser films or photographs you someplace like public restrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms, you can report him/her.
It is also illegal for anyone to intentionally film or photograph a non-consenting person if the image exposes the private areas of his or her body.
If a street harasser takes an up-skirt or down-blouse photo of you, or otherwise observes or photographs you in an inappropriate way, you can report him/her.
Indecent Exposure
Indecent exposure laws are very similar. We chose Alabama because it’s broad, Colorado because it’s straightforward, and D.C. as an example of a good city ordinance.
Alabama
Public Lewdness
Title 13A, Chap. 12 §130
A street harasser commits public lewdness if s/he exposes his or her genitals or anus in a public place and “is reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his [or her] act,” or commits any lewd act that is likely to be observed by others who would be affronted or alarmed. The statute doesn’t specifically define a lewd act, meaning this law could encompass a variety of the obscene things street harassers do in public.
If you see a harasser flash anyone or engage in public masturbation, you can report him/her.
Colorado
Indecent Exposure
Title 18, Article 7, §302
These acts are considered indecent exposure in Colorado:
* Knowingly exposing one’s genitals to another person in a way that is likely to cause affront or alarm to the other person with the intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desire.
If a harasser flashes or otherwise exposes him or herself to you or is masturbating in front of you, and you feel alarmed or affronted, you can report that person for indecent exposure.
Washington, D.C.
Lewd, Indecent, or Obscene Acts
Title 22, Subtitle I, Chap. 13 §1312
It is illegal in D.C. for anyone to “make an obscene or indecent exposure” of his or her genitals or anus, to masturbate, or to engage in a sexual act in a public place.
If a street harasser exposes him or herself to you or flashes you, masturbates in front of you, or does any other sexual act in public, you can report him/ he
Obstructing Your Path
California
Obstructing Free Movement
Title 15, Chap. 2 §647c
Anyone who “willfully and maliciously obstructs the free movement of any person on any street, sidewalk, or other public place or on or in any place open to the public is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
If a harasser is preventing you from passing on a sidewalk, street, or other public place, such as in a park, you can report him or her for obstructing free movement. (Obstructing your free movement on public transportation is also illegal under §640).
Delaware
Obstructing Ingress or Egress from Public Buildings
Title 11, Chap. 5 § 1324
It is illegal in Delaware for a harasser to obstruct your entry to or exit from (ingress or egress) any public building. The law does not specify whether this applies only to publicly owned buildings or to any building open to the public.
If a harasser is obstructing your path while you are trying to enter or exit a public building, you can report him/her.
Following
Arkansas
Harassment
Title 5, Subtitle 6, Chap. 71 §208
In Arkansas, it is illegal for anyone, with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm you, to follow you in or about a public place. You can report anyone who follows you to harass, annoy or alarm you.
Arizona
Harassment
Title 13, Chap. 29 §2921
Under Arizona’s harassment law it is illegal for anyone to follow you “in or about a public place for no legitimate purpose after being asked to desist.”
In order for the harassment law to apply, you must first ask the person to stop following you. Of course, only do this if you feel safe enough. Arizona’s law uses the verb “ask,” meaning that even a polite, non-confrontational request – if that’s what you’re most comfortable with – should be enough to establish your rights under the law. However, even if you do not feel safe enough to speak to the person, you can call 911 as soon as you are safe to do so.
Colorado
Harassment
Title 18, Article 9, §111
In Colorado, the harassment law prohibits anyone from following another person in or about a public place.
You can report street harassers who follow you, make overtly sexual references to you, or repeatedly taunt you. This Colorado law is one of the best in the country for addressing harassers who follow people because it does not state that the following must be repeated for it to be a crime.
Georgia
Stalking
Title 16, Chap. 5, Article 7
Stalking in Georgia is defined as someone following, placing under surveillance, or contacting a non-consenting person for the purpose of harassing or intimidating that person.
If someone follows you or harasses you and you feel threatened and unsafe, you can report that person. Unlike many other states, under this stalking law it is a crime the first time it happens.
Kentucky
Harassment
KRS Chapter 525, §70
Under Kentucky’s harassment law, it is illegal for someone to follow another person around in a public place with the intent to intimidate, harass, annoy, or alarm that person. The first time a street harasser follows you and you feel harassed, annoyed or alarmed, you can report that person using this law.
Minnesota
Stalking
§609.749
Stalking is illegal in Minnesota. The law defines stalking as conduct which causes another to feel frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated. Then it specifies the acts that, when done under these circumstances, constitute the crime of stalking. One of the included acts is following, monitoring, or pursuing another person. The law also specifies that it is not necessary to prove that the actor intended to cause you to feel scared or intimidated, but only that s/he did so, and it does not state that the stalking actions need to be repeated to constitute a crime.
If the same person follows you or harasses you and you feel threatened and unsafe, you can report that person. You may also have the right to a restraining order to prevent future harassment.
Pennsylvania
Harassment
Title 18, Chapter 27, § 2709
The law prohibits a person from “following someone in or about a public place” if done with intent to “harass, annoy or alarm” that person. You can report anyone who follows you to harass, annoy or alarm you.
Kentucky
Harassment
KRS Chapter 525, §70
Under Kentucky’s harassment law, it is illegal for someone to follow another person around in a public place with the intent to intimidate, harass, annoy, or alarm that person. The first time a street harasser follows you and you feel harassed, annoyed or alarmed, you can report that person using this law.
Minnesota
Stalking
§609.749
Stalking is illegal in Minnesota. The law defines stalking as conduct which causes another to feel frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated. Then it specifies the acts that, when done under these circumstances, constitute the crime of stalking. One of the included acts is following, monitoring, or pursuing another person. The law also specifies that it is not necessary to prove that the actor intended to cause you to feel scared or intimidated, but only that s/he did so, and it does not state that the stalking actions need to be repeated to constitute a crime.
If the same person follows you or harasses you and you feel threatened and unsafe, you can report that person. You may also have the right to a restraining order to prevent future harassment.
Pennsylvania
Harassment
Title 18, Chapter 27, § 2709
The law prohibits a person from “following someone in or about a public place” if done with intent to “harass, annoy or alarm” that person. You can report anyone who follows you to harass, annoy or alarm you.
Groping
Alaska
Harassment in the First and Second Degree
Alaska Stat. §11.61.118 & 120
There are two degrees of the harassment law that apply to groping.
1. The statute harassment in the first degree prohibits anyone from touching your genitals, breasts, or buttocks through clothing or causing you to come in contact with “human or animal blood, mucus, saliva, semen, urine, vomitus, or feces.”
If a street harasser touches you in an offensive way or causes you to come in contact with any bodily fluid, you can report him/her.
2. Alaska’s statute against harassment in the second degree prohibits subjecting “another person to offensive physical contact.”
If a street harasser makes any offensive physical contact with you, such as grabbing you by the arm, you can report him/her.
Maryland
Sexual Offense in the Fourth Degree
Md. Criminal Code, Title 3, Subtitle 3 §308
Sexual contact is intentionally touching a non-consenting person’s “genital, anal, or other intimate area for sexual arousal or gratification,” or for abuse.
If a street harasser grabs your crotch, butt, or breasts – whether on the street, in a store, on public transportation, or any place at all – you can report him/her.
Missouri
Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree
§566.101
It is illegal in Missouri for anyone to subject a non-consenting person to sexual contact.
Sexual contact is defined as “any touching of another person with the genitals or any touching of the genitals or anus of another person, or the breast of a female person, or such touching through the clothing, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire of any person.”
If a street harasser touches your genitals or breasts, either over or under your clothing, or causes you to come in contact with his or her genitals – for example, by rubbing against you or putting your hand in his or her lap – you can report him/her.
Montana
Sexual Assault
§45-5-502
It is illegal for someone to force a non-consenting person to have sexual contact.
Sexual contact is defined as the touching of sexual or other intimate parts of another person directly or through clothing (meaning if the person touches you over your clothes) with the intent of causing that person bodily injury or to humiliate, harass or degrade that person, or for the harasser’s sexual gratification.
If anyone touches you in a sexual way against your will in a public place, such as on the street, at a bus stop, or in a bar, you can report him/her.
Virginia
Sexual Battery
§ 18.2-67.4
It is illegal for a person to sexually abuse someone by force, threat, intimidation, or ruse.
Sexual abuse is defined as touching a person’s intimate parts or touching the material directly covering such intimate parts or forcing someone to touch the harasser’s intimate parts.
If anyone touches you in a sexual way against your will in a public place, like on the street, at a bus stop, or in a bar, you can report that person.
Hate Crimes
The hate crime laws of California, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Vermont punish bias crimes more comprehensively, on the basis of all: race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity.
California
Title 11.6, Chap. 2 §422.6
In California, it is illegal for anyone, even a law enforcement officer or other representative of the state, to “willfully injure, intimidate, interfere with, oppress, or threaten” you or to limit your free exercise and enjoyment of the rights guaranteed to you by the State of California or the U.S. government because of your:
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
- Race or ethnicity
- Nationality
- Religion
- Disability
- Association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics
If a street harasser threatens, intimidates, or injures you because of any of these characteristics – such as using a racial, homophobic, or gender-based slur in a threat – this harassment may be considered a hate crime in California. You can report any crime s/he has committed, as well as any indication of hate or bias, to the police. The California statute indicates that a hate crime does not consist of speech alone unless the harasser has threatened violence and appears able to carry out their threat.
An example of a hate crime in the context of street harassment would be someone following you and shouting something like, “Don’t you know you shouldn’t be here because you’re [a woman/gay/black/white/Latina/etc.]? I should [violent threat] so you’ll stay inside.” This threat would be considered a hate crime if the person attempts to or does carry it out.
If a court finds that someone has committed a hate crime against you, the judge will issue a protective order. A restraining order may also be issued for the duration of court proceedings (prior to a conviction) if deemed necessary for your safety.
District of Columbia
Bias-Related Crime
Title 22, Subtitle II, Chap. 37, §400-4004
In D.C., a hate crime is a crime that is committed against a person because of prejudice or bias, including because of a person’s actual or perceived:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- National origin
- Sex
- Age
- Marital status
- Personal appearance
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity or expression
- Family responsibility
- Homelessness
- Physical disability
- Matriculation
- Political affiliation
A person who is charged with and found guilty of a bias-related crime shall be fined not more than 1 1/2 times the maximum fine authorized for the designated act and imprisoned for not more than 1 1/2 times the maximum term authorized for the designated act.
Iowa
Violation of Individual Rights — Hate Crime
Title XVI, Subtitle 1, Chap. 729 §729A.1
Iowa provides particular protections from crimes committed because of bias or prejudice. The statute on individual rights and hate crimes contains the following: “Persons within the state of Iowa have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability.”
If a street harasser assaults you because of your sex, race, sexual orientation, or another protected category, this harassment may be considered a hate crime. You can report any crime the person has committed, as well as any indication of hate or bias – such as using a racial, homophobic, or gender-based slur – to the police.
New Mexico
Hate Crimes
Chap. 31, Article 3 §18B
In New Mexico, hate crimes are when crimes are motivated because of a person’s actual or perceived:
- Race
- Religion
- Color
- National origin
- Ancestry
- Age
- Disability
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
If there is beyond a reasonable doubt that an offender committed a noncapital felony motivated by hate, the basic sentence of imprisonment for that crime (such as assault) increases by one year.
Vermont
Hate-Motivated Crimes
Title 13, Chapter 31, § 1455
A hate crime occurs any time a crime is carried out because of a bias against a victim’s actual or perceived:
- Age
- Ancestry
- Color
- Gender identity
- Handicap
- National origin
- Race
- Religion
- Service in the U.S. armed forces
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
In Vermont, typical hate crimes include assault, unlawful mischief (damage or destruction of property), telephone harassment, and disorderly conduct (by public yelling of threats and abuse).
An example of a hate crime in the context of street harassment might be someone following you and shouting something like, “Don’t you know you shouldn’t be here because you’re [a woman/gay/black/white/latina/etc.]? I should [violent threat] so you’ll stay inside.” Depending on the situation, this kind of verbal harassment could be considered assault, and so the accompanying indication of bias may elevate the offense to a hate crime.
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