Closed petition Criminalise Public Sexual Harassment with Fines

Closed on 27 February 2021

Criminalise sexist insults, degrading/humiliating comments, or hostile and offensive “sexual or sexist” behaviour towards a person in public areas, schools or workplaces. The police need power to hand out instant fines. Sexual harassment has become wrongly normalised and accepted as inevitable.

Street harassment is a significant part of the lives of most women, including transwomen and gender-diverse individuals, but anyone can be vulnerable. According to a 2017 CNN report, in the UK 64% of all women have been sexually harassed, but even more have simply never reported their experiences. There wasn't much point. Similar measures have already been successfully implemented, most notably in France, Belgium and Portugal. This indicates that these measures can be genuinely effective.