Conceptual understandings and prevalence of sexual harassment and street harassment

This resource sheet provides an overview of the existing research on women\u27s experiences of sexual harassment and street harassment. It also considers conceptual models of sexual violence that are inclusive of these experiences. Women\u27s experiences of street harassment and sexual harassment are focused on in this paper. It is acknowledged that men can also be the victims of this behaviour. However, street harassment and sexual harassment are highly gendered occurrences. Women are overwhelmingly the victims and men the perpetrators. The language adopted throughout this sesource sheet reflects this gendered reality. Further, the conceptual model of sexual violence discussed later in this publication (the continuum model of sexual violence) applies more specifically to women\u27s experiences of sexual violence across their life course. That is, women experience a broad range of sexual violence (ranging from the relatively "minor" to severe forms of sexual violation) at rates considerably higher than men. Further, while rates of victimisation remain relatively steady for women across their life course, rates of victimisation against men tend to decline across their life course.Key messages:Sexual violence, as a form of violence againt women needs to be conceptualised in a way that reflects women\u27s actual experiences, ranging from relatively "minor" forms of sexual violence through to sexual assault and rape.The harm of sexual violence is not always directly correlated with the perceived seriousness of the behaviour. Individual women experience forms of sexual violence differently. The context behaviour occurs in also plays a role in mediating its harm.All forms of sexual violence are interconnected, and are underpinned by the same social and cultural attitudes.Sexual harassment and street harassment are highly prevalent and common experiences for women. They are often not talked about and not taken seriously as harm (particularly street harassment).Sexual harassment and street harassment need to be included in policy and legislation targeted at preventing or responding to sexual violence.Information on current responses and disclosure mechanisms is also provided towards the end of this resource

Victim/survivor-focused justice responses and reforms to criminal court practice: implementation, current practice and future directions

Abstract: Reforms have been underway over the last three decades to address the disadvantages that victim/survivors of sexual assault face within the criminal justice system in Australia. Such reforms include expansion of advocate services, specialisation of police, alternative provisions for giving evidence at trial, and changes to jury instructions. This report was commissioned to examine the implementation of these reforms and their impact on the victim/survivor experience. Drawing on interviews with 81 criminal justice professionals including counsellors, lawyers, and judges, it looks at victim/survivor-focused approaches, promising and innovative practices, the take up of reforms, the factors that enable or inhibit victim-focused reforms being embedded in court practices, and the potential for future reform

‘I’d be in my school uniform’: the informal curriculum of street harassment

A growing body of literature has documented the pervasive occurrence of harassment in schools, and street-based harassment. However, to date there has been little attention to street-based harassment occurring in school-related contexts, such as walking to and from school in uniform. In this article, we aim to address this gap by exploring findings from 47 qualitative interviews with individuals who have experienced street and public harassment in Australia. Street harassment was commonly encountered by participants while they were in their school uniform, and beginning high school was often associated with the onset or increased intensity of street harassment. Drawing on Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power and feminist theorisation on embodiment, we argue that street harassment–and school responses to this harassment–functioned as an ‘informal curriculum’ that normalized the occurrence of harassment and produced young people’s bodies as sites of risk that required surveillance, control, and careful management through engagement in safety work

‘Merely a Compliment’? Community Perceptions of Street Harassment in Melbourne, Australia

Community attitudes towards sexual and gender-based violence play a central role in normalising, excusing and minimising perpetrators’ actions, as well as fostering a violence-supportive culture. However, we currently know little regarding how members of the community understand or perceive ‘everyday’ or seemingly ‘minor’ forms of harassment and intrusion, such as street-based harassment, with most research focusing on sexual assault and rape. To address this gap, we conducted a mixed-methods, vignette-based survey with members of the community in Melbourne, Australia. The survey examined participants’ perceptions of five scenarios depicting incidents that might constitute street harassment, including the extent to which participants viewed the scenarios as harmful, complimentary or in breach of social norms, and who bore responsibility for the incident. Findings suggest that participants typically held progressive understandings of harassment, but they nonetheless drew on victim-blaming or minimising discourses at times. In closing, we consider the implications for future research and primary prevention work

#MeToo in regional, rural and remote Australia: An analysis of regional newspapers reports profiling the movement

The #MeToo movement sparked a global conversation and moment of reckoning in relation to sexual violence. The hashtag campaign, developed from a tweet sent by actress Alyssa Milano (though the phrase was originally coined by African American activist Tarana Burke some decade earlier), provided a moment for survivors to share their experiences in a context in which they were perhaps more likely to be supported and believed. The #MeToo movement also created an opportunity to engage in a more productive dialogue about the causes and the challenges underpinning the prevention of gender-based violence. Yet, #MeToo has been subject to substantive critique, particularly in relation to modes of representation within media reporting. In addition, there is also little is known about how the #MeToo movement was impactful beyond major urban centres and resonated in regional, rural, and remote (RRR) locations. This article addresses both these issues drawing on a thematic analysis of 70 newspaper articles from RRR newspapers in Australia reporting on or responding to the #MeToo movement. While the data reveals some progressive approaches to documenting how the #MeToo movement impacted some RRR communities, as well as profiling some of the key challenges facing RRR communities in addressing gender-based violence, the specific voices represented in newspaper reporting, continues to reflect the perspectives of white, heterosexual women. We conclude by suggesting further research exploring the nature of reporting on #MeToo in other RRR spaces is needed to understand the full extent to which sexual violence is understood and represented. In addition, more specific work with survivors in RRR Australia and globally is vital to understand the dynamics and complexities of responding to and preventing sexual violence and the challenges associated with the geographies of speaking out

“I want to be able to walk the street without fear”: Transforming justice for street harassment

The practices comprising the analytic category of street harassment are rarely responded to through either criminal or restorative justice approaches, and the possibilities for transformative justice have to date not been considered. In this article we advocate for a victim-centred justice response to street harassment, specifically examining the potential for transformative justice to function in this way. Drawing on data from a recent Australian study, we examine participants’ understandings of justice and desired justice responses to street harassment. Participants’ responses drew attention to a range of perceived shortcomings of the formal justice system as a mechanism for responding to street harassment. Instead, participants advocated for a justice response concerned with transforming cultural and structural norms, in particular gender norms. We end in an examination of the limitations of transformative justice, looking to recent work on “kaleidoscopic justice” as a way of transforming common conceptions of justice itself

Perceptions of Safety Among Taxi and Rideshare Service Patrons: Gender, Safekeeping And Responsibilisation

Rideshare and taxi services may commonly be perceived as safer modes of travel, particularly in comparison to public transport, and the introduction of rideshare services such as Uber has transformed urban mobilities. Yet, there is emerging anecdotal evidence to suggest that both taxi and rideshare services are sites of sexual harassment and violence. However, little is known about passengers’ perceptions of safety when using taxis and rideshare services, an issue with significant implications for mobility, civic participation and social inclusion. To address this gap, we explore findings from an online survey and one-on-one interviews with rideshare and taxi patrons to examine their perceptions of safety when using taxi and rideshare services and the factors that facilitate or impede feelings of safety, including the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In closing, we consider the implications of the findings for conceptualisations of safety, developing policy and practice, and future research

Making good law: research and law reform

Research plays an integral role in law-making processes. But could academic research be applied more strategically to improve the processes and outcomes of law reform

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

Safer sex in later life: Qualitative interviews with older Australians on their understandings and practices of safer sex

Rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increasing in older cohorts in Western countries such as Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., suggesting a need to examine the safer sex knowledge and practices of older people. This article presents findings from 53 qualitative interviews from the study “Sex, Age & Me: a National Study of Sex and Relationships Among Australians aged 60+.” Participants were recruited through an online national survey. We consider how participants understood “safer sex,” the importance of safer sex to them, the safer sex practices they used (and the contexts in which they used them), and the barriers to using safer sex. Older adults had diverse understandings, knowledge, and use of safer sex practices, although participants tended to focus most strongly on condom use. Having safer sex was strongly mediated by relationship context, trust, perceived risk of contracting an STI, concern for personal health, and stigma. Common barriers to safer sex included erectile difficulties, embarrassment, stigma, reduced pleasure, and the lack of a safer sex culture among older people. The data presented has important implications for sexual health policy, practice, and education and health promotion campaigns aimed at improving the sexual health and wellbeing of older cohorts