Men's stranger intrusions: Rethinking street harassment

Invasion of privacy or structural violence? Harassment against women in public transport environments: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Despite being neglected for several decades, and in many countries, public transport environments have transformed into a reflection of social disparities and inequalities. Among these issues, harassment-a pervasive and worldwide gendered dynamic-has been demonstrated to negatively impact women's behavioral trends, daily opportunities, and health impacts, as well as safety and security outcomes.

AIM

This systematic review aimed to examine a set of studies analyzing harassment against women in public transport environments, with a focus on key issues such as its prevalence, impact on transport dynamics, preventive strategies, and policing avenues documented in the scientific literature.

METHOD

A total of 575 indexed articles were filtered using the PRISMA methodology, resulting in a final selection of 28 original articles directly addressing the issue up to December 2023. Search strategies were developed and implemented across WOS, Scopus, NCBI, Google Scholar, and APA databases.

RESULTS

Besides high frequency, widespread underreporting, and adverse effects on women's safety, this review has identified correlations between harassment and travel behavioral adaptations. Furthermore, it reveals a noticeable disparity between the existing measures and those perceived as more effective by potential victims. These findings underscore the pressing need to listen to and promote the inclusion of women in decision-making regarding transport affairs.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this systematic review suggest that, despite a slightly limited body of research, the impact of transport harassment on women's health and welfare is consistently supported in the literature. In addition to being largely explained by existing inequalities rooted in social determinants, transit harassment further exacerbates gender gaps, gaining prospective importance for transport settings.

Operationalizing Street Harassment Using Survey Instruments: A Systematic Review of Measuring Harassment in Public Spaces Using Surveys

Quantitative research has an omitted variable problem when it comes to measuring and modeling non-criminal threats in the urban environment. This systematic review identified questionnaires and surveys used to measure incidences of street harassment/harassment in public, to discuss how they operationalize street harassment/harassment in public, and to report the characteristics of those with the best evidence of reliability and validity. We searched five databases and included peer-reviewed articles published in English from 1994 to 2022 that measured street harassment using a survey instrument. Our search resulted in 54 included studies. Of these studies, 16 primarily focused on understanding street harassment. To design effective prevention strategies in response to street harassment, research must first effectively measure the prevalence of street harassment and the contexts in which street harassment occurs. Due to the inconsistencies in definition, our review identified prevalence rates were inconsistent. Incidents of street harassment provide a promising avenue for future research, although scholars must first seek to appropriately operationalize this concept in survey research. We provide suggestions for future research that seeks to use surveys to understand harassment in public places.

Street Harassment Interpretations: An Exploration of the Intersection of Gender and Race/Ethnicity, and Mediator Variables

How does the intersection of gender and race/ethnicity influence street harassment interpretations? What roles do attitudes and past experience play in these relationships? We examined these questions through an exploratory study of 163 Californian respondents and four hypothetical scenarios: being told to smile, being called "sexy," hearing kissing noises, and being followed. Our findings revealed Black, Latina, and White women were more critical of these behaviors than men in their race/ethnic group. Women across all race/ethnicities interpreted the scenarios similarly with minor nuances. Street harassment views were strongly associated with prior experiences instigating street harassment and support for harassment myths.

From "Ghettoization" to a Field of Its Own: A Comprehensive Review of Street Harassment Research

Street harassment represents one of the most pervasive forms of sexual violence. While it is commonly understood as a gender-based harm, it also intersects with racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and other forms of abuse. Although it is rarely responded to through government policy, research illustrates that street harassment can have profoundly negative impacts of those who experience it. This article provides a comprehensive review of the current "state of the field" of street harassment research. We undertook two extensive searches of the EBSCO Discovery database in 2015 and 2020, followed by the use of reference snowballing and a Google Scholar search in order to triangulate results. Studies included in the sample were published in English, peer-reviewed and centrally focused on street harassment. Dissertations and nongovernmental organization reports were also included due to the small number of studies in this field. One hundred eighty-two sources were included in the final sample. Findings show that publications on this topic have increased substantially across the two reviews. We provide a thematic overview of key research findings to date and argue throughout that current research suffers from conceptual and typological slippage and does not consistently take into account the need for an intersectional analysis. We close with suggestions for future directions in research and practice, given the emergent nature of the field.

Young Women's Experiences With Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence From Male Strangers

Stranger-perpetrated harassment was identified decades ago to describe the pervasive, unwanted sexual attention women experience in public spaces. This form of harassment, which has evolved in the modern era, targets women as they navigate online spaces, social media, texting, and online gaming. The present research explored university-aged women's experiences (n = 381) with online male-perpetrated sexual harassment, including the nature and frequency of the harassment, how women responded to the harassment, and how men reportedly reacted to women's strategies. Trends in harassment experiences are explored descriptively and with thematic analysis. Most women reported receiving sexually inappropriate messages (84%, n = 318), sexist remarks or comments (74%, n = 281), seductive behavior or come-ons (70%, n = 265), or unwanted sexual attention (64%, n = 245) in an online platform, social media account, email, or text message. This sexual attention from unknown males often began at a very young age (12-14 years). The harassment took many forms, including inappropriate sexual comments on social media posts, explicit photos of male genitalia, and solicitations for sex. Although most women reported strong negative emotional reactions to the harassment (disgust, fear, anger), they generally adopted non-confrontational strategies to deal with the harassment, electing to ignore/delete the content or blocking the offender. Women reported that some men nevertheless persisted with the harassment, following them across multiple sites online, escalating in intensity and severity, and leading some women to delete their own social media accounts. These results suggest the need for early intervention and education programs and industry response.

From harassment to disappearance: Young women’s feelings of insecurity in public spaces

Background

There are processes of gender socialization that increase the vulnerability of young women against a continuum of threats in the public space. This study explored the feeling of insecurity in public spaces among young women in a city located near the northern border of Mexico.

Methods and findings

This study was based on the tradition of grounded theory. Purposive sampling was used, and 24 group interviews were conducted with junior high school, high school and university students to understand the conditions that favour the emergence of the feeling of insecurity, its psychosocial consequences and management strategies. A computer-assisted qualitative analysis was performed using MAXQDA 18 software. The study showed that street harassment was manifested mainly as sexual harassment but generated a continuous threat of feminicide and disappearance. Young women experienced discomfort and restrictions on mobility, and they had to assume individual responsibility for their safety in the absence of support from the state.

Conclusions

The interaction between gender and age determines the vulnerability to crime in urban spaces. Future studies could analyse the chronic impact of this continuum of threats and develop psychosocial interventions that promote the empowerment of young women.

Fear for All Women: European women's fear of harassment and aggression in public spaces

This work is based on the inequality that women suffer in public spaces, with fear being a constant in their lives. Women must learn to live to accept a limited and constrained existence. Based on this approach, this research establishes a European description and comparison of the insecurities, fears, or concerns expressed by women facing the risk of aggression/harassment, and the prevalence of sexual harassment in public spaces. For this, we used the Survey on Violence Against Women in the European Union (EU; 2012). In the fieldwork, we performed a factorial analysis, as well as a logistic regression analysis between the sociodemographic variables (age, educational level, income, and habitat) and prevalence of physical or virtual sexual harassment. In general, while European women report that they have suffered harassment to a considerable extent, there are even greater concerns or fear of abuse or aggression in public spaces. A fundamental fact is that there is a significant correlation between the prevalence of harassment and per capita income, such that those countries with the highest economic development show a higher incidence of harassment towards women. Similarly, European countries with higher standards of equality show a greater incidence and prevention against the risk of harassment or aggression, particularly among young women. Some results suggest that more than half of Europeans avoid certain spaces or places for fear of being attacked. The main European powers, which have higher standards of equality, report the most harmful instances of behavior against women in public spaces in relation to harassment or fear. The results obtained prompt the conclusion that socialization towards European women is both victimizing and discriminatory.

Street Sexual Harassment: Experiences and Attitudes among Young Spanish People

Violence against women (VAW) is gender-based violence directed at women and girls on account of being female that can take on multiple forms and manifest in different contexts. Among the many possible forms of VAW, this article focuses on “piropos”, a type of stranger harassment situation. Specifically, the objectives of this study were two-fold: to analyze the usefulness of a tool to evaluate social attitudes towards this form of VAW and to analyze the influence of sociodemographic variables and prior victimization (whether as a witness or victim) on attitudes towards this type of violence among Spanish youth. An opportunity sample of 538 young Spanish people took part in this study. They filled out a sociodemographic data sheet, a victimization questionnaire designed ad hoc, and a questionnaire on attitudes towards “piropos”. The results obtained indicate that the questionnaire was adequate for use as a tool to evaluate social attitudes towards this type of VAW and suggest its applicability for future studies on attitudes towards “piropos” as a type of stranger harassment situation in a Spanish context. Moreover, the results on victimization not only corroborate the magnitude of street sexual harassment in Spain and a direct effect of gender on the perception of the violence experienced, they also reinforce the need to further investigate new aspects. Regarding attitudes towards “piropos”, the results obtained indicate that, in general, participants demonstrated negative attitudes or rejection, and these feelings were particularly strong among women.

L’invisibilité de la violence sexuelle ordinaire chez les étudiantes universitaires : des expériences à comprendre

Les auteures veulent comprendre les expériences de violences sexuelles ordinaires vécues par des étudiantes universitaires, cette forme de violence s’insérant dans les interactions sociales de la vie quotidienne. Pour saisir l’expérience d’étudiantes, elles ont réalisé 27 entretiens semi-directifs. L’analyse de leurs discours permet de rendre visibles les formes de violence ordinaire vécue : regards déplacés, commentaires inappropriés, interpellations verbales dérangeantes et autres. Elle met également en lumière les processus de banalisation et de normalisation qui, bien qu’ils permettent de donner sens à leurs expériences, rendent aussi cette violence invisible.

Hacia una reconceptualización del acoso callejero

Resumen: En este trabajo se examinan las distintas conceptualizaciones sobre el acoso callejero existentes en dos cuerpos teóricos, la literatura feminista y la de crímenes de odio, que presentan nudos críticos que dificultan la comprensión del fenómeno. Dichos nudos críticos son identificados, expuestos y revisados. Se plantea que, pese a estos nudos, ambos cuerpos teóricos presentan elementos que enriquecen su capacidad explicativa sobre el fenómeno del acoso callejero. Este artículo propone una reconceptualización del acoso callejero a partir de la unión de los dos cuerpos teóricos mencionados. Este trabajo contribuye al debate sobre el acoso callejero, y más ampliamente sobre la violencia, poniendo en el centro del análisis la teoría de la interseccionalidad.

The Harasser’s Toolbox: Investigating the Role of Mobility in Street Harassment

This study investigates the role of physical mobility in street harassment by analyzing a stratified random sample of 334 cases posted to Hollaback!, an online community documenting experiences of street harassment. Findings suggest that harassers utilize means of transportation as weapons to inflict or threaten physical harm, to escape or preserve anonymity, and to pursue targets and as a hunting ground for potential targets. By identifying the mechanisms of street harassment, we theorize how harassers negotiate mobility—particular types of mobility, especially that which is enabled by public transportation and owner vehicles—to gain advantage over targets of harassment.

Naming the Unspeakable Harm of Street Harassment: A Survey-Based Examination of Disclosure Practices

Street harassment may be considered an “unspeakable” harm on account of the routine silencing and trivialization of victims’ experiences. Disclosing street harassment is vital in making its harms visible and in working to transform social and cultural attitudes. Despite a recent resurgence of interest in street harassment via online activist groups, there is scant research on disclosure practices. Drawing on findings from an online, mixed-methods survey with 292 participants who have experienced street harassment, I examine disclosure practices using an intersectional lens. I argue that disclosure is an epistemological process, through which a limited and partial understanding of street harassment is produced.

‘Talk about a Cunt with too Much Idle Time’: Trolling Feminist Research

Given the growing popularity of online methods for researchers and the increasing awareness of the levels of harassment and abuse directed at women online—especially women expressing feminist views—it is critical that we address the implications of online abuse for feminist researchers. Focussing on an often hidden yet significant part of our methodological decisions and recruitment, this paper details the online abuse levelled by men's rights activists against a research project on women's experiences of men's stranger intrusions in public space. It argues for the need to locate such experiences within a violence-against-women frame, extending the concept of a continuum of sexual violence. Such an extension renders visible the added labour of ‘safety work’, which forms an invisible backdrop to the methodological decisions of many feminist researchers.