street harassment study Archives | Stop Street Harassment

43 percent of young women experienced street harassment in London last year

May 25, 2012 By HKearl

In a recent poll conducted by the Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) Coalition in London, 43 percent of young women ages 18-34 had experienced street harassment just during the past year. The total sample size was 1047 adults and the poll was conducted in early March 2012.

In a press release, EVAW Coalition Co-Chair Professor Liz Kelly said:

“Our survey shows that sexual harassment in London is extremely common. Some survey respondents also said that this behaviour makes them feel uncomfortable and unsafe and makes them change their behaviour and decisions about when and where to travel.

“Despite this high prevalence and impact however, public sexual harassment is a form of abuse which generally goes unchallenged, creating an unsafe and unequal environment for women.

“We need investment in public campaigns on transport and elsewhere saying this behaviour is unacceptable, and training for transport staff about how to respond to it.”

Some of the comments made by survey respondents were:

“I feel safer on public transport than I do walking around, but I have still experienced several nasty incidents of sexual harassment on the tube where I have been forced to change carriage or leave the train a stop early to avoid harassment from men.”

“Feel unsafe at night if I am alone and travelling home. I often move carriages on the tube to feel safer or change buses.”

“Have had some issues when travelling on the top deck of a bus, especially at night, so don’t feel safe up there. Safer to sit nearer the driver.”

The EVAW Coalition has written to Transport for London with the survey findings and setting out its recommendations which are that there should be a public awareness campaign indicating that sexual harassment can be a crime and is not acceptable.

EVAW is also calling for training for police and transport staff in dealing with sexual harassment when it is reported. It is hoped that a combination of measures such as these will contribute to a longer term culture change where this behaviour becomes less socially acceptable and where bystanders for example are more likely to intervene when it occurs (some survey respondents reported incidents of sexual harassment and assault where onlookers did nothing).”

I hope that government officials in London will take action to address the widespread problem of gender-based street harassment now that there is data proving that this is a major problem, especially for young women. Everyone deserves to be in public places without experiencing or fearing harassment. Especially with the Summer Olympics taking place in London this year, it is important that everyone is safe and feels comfortable navigating the city.

Good job, EVAW for conducting the survey and bringing attention to this issue!

UPDATE: Here is a sampling of news stories about this poll: Guardian 1 | 2; The Independent; The F Word Blog; Huffington Post

83 Percent of Tel Aviv women experience street harassment

November 23, 2011 By HKearl

A new study of women in Tel Aviv found that 83 percent had faced street harassment, adding to the growing number of studies that show that at least 80 percent of women worldwide experience street harassment sometime in their life.

Here are some of the fascinating findings, via Haaretz.com:

“Before various forms of harassment were described to them, 45% of the women surveyed reported being harassed by a man in the public sphere. However, when they were asked directly about whistling, knowing looks and suggestive remarks, the number almost doubled and reached the 83% finding regarding women attesting to having been sexually harassed. According to researchers who carried out the survey, the numbers suggests that some acts of harassment are not thought of as such by women in the city.

The group reporting the highest incidence of harassment included women aged 22-39. The most common forms of harassment are whistling in the street (64% of all respondents reported experiencing this ), cars beeping horns (61% ), knowing looks (45% ), suggestive remarks (40% ), inappropriate proposals (22% ), touching (21% ) and stalking (18% ). Also, 6% of respondents reported that they were victims of sexual abuse.

The most frequent venue for harassment is the street. 96% of women who report being harassed refer to harassment experienced on the street. 45% say they were sexually harassed on public transport; 30% on the beach; 20% in a park or public garden; and 19% in an open market area.

95% of respondents who report being harassed say the harassment occurred at least one time during daytime hours, and 64% reported incidents occurring after dark.”

The survey was sponsored by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality’s committee for advancing the status of women, with help from shelters for survivors of sexual assault and the Shatil organization.

This is my favorite paragraph of the news story:

“Tamar Zandberg, chairperson of the Tel Aviv Municipality committee for the status of women and municipality council member, says that these survey findings are disturbing, but also not surprising. “We deliberately checked the topic of harassment on the street; up to now, this form of harassment has not been considered serious. As in any campaign, the first step is to learn all the facts, and see what picture they create,” she explains. “The big picture here is clear – the street is neither safe, pleasant nor comfortable for women. The days when this could be ignored are over,” Zandberg declared.”

This is wonderful. This is what every country, every city, every community needs to do. Start talking about street harassment, survey women on the topic, and stop ignoring the fact that this happens to most women and that we don’t like it, even if we haven’t yet thought of it as sexual harassment/street harassment.

Way to go, Tel Aviv Municipality committee for the status of women, for bringing this issue to light in your community.

What is your experience?

October 7, 2010 By HKearl

Stop Street Harassment ally Dr. Kimberly Fairchild is conducting another study relevant to street harassment. She needs your help! Please take her anonymous survey and share your experiences.

“I am conducting a psychological experiment involving judging other people’s attributes and perspective taking. Our research suggests that even from limited information people can make accurate judgments about the dominant traits, emotional reactions, and behaviors of other
people. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete. If you are
interested in participating, follow the link below.”
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/personality12