Rejected petition Make catcalling and gender-based street harassment illegal in the UK

The Anti-Harassment Club defines street harassment as any unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature, whether implicit or explicit, forced on a stranger in a public place without their consent.

UK law must change. Street harassment must be recognised as the pervasive violation of human rights it is.

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YouGov found that 64% of women of all ages have experienced unwanted sexual harassment in public places. This increases to 85% of girls aged 18-24 with 45% of those experiencing unwanted sexual touching. Only 11% of women said anyone had intervened though 81% said they wished someone had (2016).

The police should be intervening. In recent years France, Belgium, Portugal, Peru and New Zealand have all implemented new laws to criminalise street harassment. The UK is falling behind.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/323460

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 8 July 2020
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