Today we received the news that we're one step closer to making Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) a crime, a goal that nearly 500,000 of you have backed.
In today's Violence against Women and Girls strategy, the Home Office has committed to:
- introduce a multi-million-pound public awareness campaign,
- review the sex and relationships education guidance
- investigate the legal gaps around PSH
We'll keep campaigning until those commitments to review become commitments to legislate.
But in the meantime, we would like to acknowledge how far we have come. Two years ago, this form of harassment wasn’t even recognised as a form of gender-based violence. Now it’s a number one priority, acknowledged and addressed by multiple government departments, from the Home Office to the Department for Transport.
This is a big win, and we want to thank every single one of you for your support. It's your commitment that has got us this far.
Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) is now recognised as unacceptable behaviour. This is a massive leap forwards for our society.
Belittling and trivialising descriptions such as ‘catcalling’ or ‘wolf-whistling’ are being replaced by our correct term for this behaviour: Public Sexual Harassment (PSH). This is a huge cultural change on the issue.
The recognition that tackling harassment requires a whole system approach in which we rethink not only our laws but also how we design our cities, how we use public transport and how we educate our children marks a first key step to ending this violence.
Make no mistake: we've got a long way to go. We must secure a firm commitment to make PSH a crime. Public Sexual Harassment must be made a part of the national curriculum to ensure every child in the UK is taught about PSH, and supported when they come forward with their experiences. We also need more funding pumped into awareness and public health campaigns. Higher education institutions need to protect their students, and transport providers their users. All of these are aims we're determined to achieve.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make public spaces safe for all. After all, these are our streets, now.
Maya x