According to American campaign group Stop Street Harassment, the definition of street harassment is: Street harassment"Unwelcome words and actions by unknown persons in public places which are motivated by gender and invade a person’s physical and emotional space in a disrespectful, creepy, startling, scary, or insulting way."
According to American campaign group Stop Street Harassment, the definition of street harassment is:
“Unwelcome words and actions by unknown persons in public places which are motivated by gender and invade a person’s physical and emotional space in a disrespectful, creepy, startling, scary, or insulting way.”
In other words, street harassment comes in many forms and is, judging by comments on the Everyday Sexism Project’s twitter feed, a widespread phenomenon.
It doesn’t only include the creepy stray hand on public transport, but also the intrusive holler on the street and the lewd stare directed at you simply because you happen to be a woman.
Left Foot Forward wanted to gauge just how common the problem is. We would also appreciate comments on your personal experiences of street harassment – as well as whether or not you think the problem is getting worse.
By highlighting the extent of the problem, hopefully we can go some way to combating it, for no woman should have to suffer street harassment.
While we are aware that street harassment can affect men and women, this poll is intended for those who identify as female.
[polldaddy poll=”7218328″]
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
9 Responses to “Poll: How often do you experience street harassment?”
Jacko
For goodness sake. Have you really nothing more compelling to write about than this? And what are you going to do with the results -introduce another law, to go along with the 3000 new laws that Labour introduced in the decade to 2007?
What about fat people, skinny people, ginger-haired people, bald people, people with acne, people with sticky-out ears, etc, etc -are you going to introduce a new law for each of those? This sums up the way the left feels that it can legislate human unpleasantness away, that we can all live in a gloriously polite and respectful utopia because someone has set up a pressure group, counselling and a new set of laws. The well-meaning naïveté of Left wing politics never ceases to amaze me.
ceridwen
Translation: Not my problem, so it’s not a problem.
Your privilege is showing.
cathjanes
Jacko, darling, the most compelling thing I have to write about is this: you don’t know what you’re talking about so shut the hell up. Now scurry off, there’s a good lad. (Oh, and if you don’t like my tone then you know how catcalled women feel every day of their lives).
Jacko
If you don’t think other people know what they’re talking about, why have you instituted a poll to solicit their experiences? Or do you mean the only people whose views you respect are people who agree with you? Or do you mean you’re only interested in what women think?
Read my post again. It doesn’t say ‘street harassment’ doesn’t exist or that it’s not a problem. It makes the perfectly reasonable point that harassment and unpleasantness towards innocent people in the street takes all forms, towards all sorts of people, and that it can’t be stopped through legislation.
It’s very revealing of your personality and credentials that when someone posts a forthright response to your article, your response is to tell them up ‘shut the hell up’ and ‘scurry off’. Is that really the most convincing rebuttal you can come up with to the points I raised? I suspect that like so many on the Left, you are so convinced of your own moral superiority that the only reasons you can conceive that a person might disagree with you is that they are either evil or stupid, and that permits you to respond in that way.
Jacko
Translation: I can’t think of any meaningful or constructive response to the point that a society cannot legislate its way out of aggression, so I’ll just use the tried and tested left wing formula of accusing any dissenting voice of being one of the privileged classes.