Empower sufferers of public sexual harassment

Who and Why

Our mission is to empower victims on how to respond to incidents of Public Sexual Harassment (PSH), with the aim of reducing ongoing trauma.

My name is Lauren and I am leading the Call It Out Campaign. Since I was 12 years old I have been stared at, followed, groped, cat called, embarrassed and sexualised in public spaces by men. As a young adult I learnt that this behaviour is PSH and that my female friends regularly experienced it as well.

Whilst attending a seminar on Sexual Harassment in Public Spaces I learnt that generally the trauma sets in not during the harassment but after, due to the shame and frustration of not knowing how to respond, and feeling embarrassed that we have allowed our space to be taken from us and made to feel small and objectified.

Afterwards there is self blame; ‘I wish I said this’, ‘I should have said that’, we obsess over the incidents and our response or lack of one for days, weeks, months and sometimes our whole lives.

Although there have been major improvements in awareness, it will take a whole cultural uproot before PSH is a thing of the past. In the meantime, we want to equip victims with actions and responses to minimise the trauma and shame that follows us after every incident.

The Call It Out Campaign team are a group of volunteers creating a short and educational video to inform women that Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) isn’t a behaviour we have to silently endure. The Call It Out Campaign will provide victims with the confidence to reclaim their space should they choose to and educate allies, bystanders, and potential perpetrators.

At the end of 2022 we worked alongside a human rights consultant to form a community research questionnaire to explore different experiences, thoughts, and responses towards PSH. Over 100 AFAB women and AFAB nonbinary people answered and provided us with the essential information required to guide our educational video.

Our findings

Early this year we closed the questionnaire and analysed the data. The results highlighted the following:

• The public spaces with the highest volume of incidents and the typical forms of harassment

• The majority of participants do not feel safe enough in our society to directly speak to a bystander or the person harassing them

• The most common reason for not wanting to approach a bystander for help is fear of making a fuss

• The majority of participants would feel comfortable and would be more likely to report an incident to a third party that is not a human but in the form of an online form/app

Further research showed that online platforms for reporting PSH do exist and are effective and efficient when used, however awareness and usage of these platforms was lacking.

We aim to promote these platforms through a set of relevant videos, and assure victims that reporting incidents isn’t just for sex based violence but for PSH too.

The platforms put in place for reporting these crimes all ask for similar information:

1. Date

2. Time

3. Location (platform/street/bus stop)

4. Appearance of harassing person

5. Other – witnesses, evidence, details of suspect

For there to be a successful report one must make a note of these things. Including this information in the video encourages a change of response from a viewer when either experiencing or observing a PSH incident. The aim is to shape the general response from an emotive one to an objective one - the PSH incident happens and almost instinctively the victim/observer takes a mental or physical note of the date and time, location and appearance of the person harassing. This information is then reported to the chosen platform should they wish to do so.

Suggesting ways people may report PSH not only gives them a solid action and response to help them reclaim their space and minimise the after trauma but reporting the incident helps work towards a PSH free society and identify hot spots for these incidents.

Distribution

The Call It Out Campaign strives to empower victims of Public Sexual Harassment but also educate allies, bystanders and potential perpetrators. We will offer the video to colleges and universities to directly influence young minds and the next generation. We will also distribute to like minded charities, local sports teams, dance and theatre companies, independent political parties, larger cooperate businesses and social media.

What Next

We have put together a budget to be able to create the video. The budget covers:

1. Cast

2. Crew

3. Set

4. Location

5. Insurance

6. Kit Hire

7. Subsidence for shoot days

8. Post production – Editing, sound, grading

The minimum total budget required is approximately £6750

So far we have raised:

Community contributions on GoFundMe page: £1345

Independent donations: £2275

We have already raised over 50% of the minimum budget ourselves but need the remainder to be able to proceed.

Final word

In September 2023 the Protection from Sex Based Harassment bill passed its final stages and was signed off by the King. Although the law is not perfect, it is hugely encouraging as it not only shows this issue is being taken seriously by those in position of power but shows real development in long term change for the safety of girls and women.

This progress shows the importance of our videos production more than ever. Encouraging victims and bystanders to report Public Sexual Harassment incidents will not only help identify hot spots for this crime but holds a stronger sense of consequence. For example, if a number of women report a harassment incident that happens at a similar time, in a similar place with a similar description of the person doing the harassment, that could provide enough information to make an arrest.

We believe that creating this video will provide a solid and safe response for victims to minimise the after trauma and could help towards creating a Public Sexual harassment free society.