Sexual harassment pervades the lives of women and girls and is deeply ingrained in our culture.
This report, which follows the Committee’s reports on schools and workplaces, focuses on sexual harassment in public places: on public transport, in bars and clubs, in online spaces and at university, in parks and on the street; it is a routine and sometimes relentless experience for women and girls, many of whom first experience it at a young age.
Government response published
Following the emergence of widespread allegations in the UK and US about sexual assault and harassment across a wide range of sectors, the Committee held a once off evidence session on women's experiences of everyday sexism in December 2017.
The Committee's report, Sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools, made recommendations to Government that have been influential in changing Government policy, including making Relationships and Sex Education compulsory in schools and publishing guidance for schools on how to tackle sexual violence.
The Committee is not focusing on workplaces in this inquiry, although it understands that there are connections between the experiences of women and girls in different areas of life.
The Committee recognises that anyone can be a perpetrator or victim of sexual harassment. In this inquiry, however, the focus is on sexual harassment of women and girls and its connections to gender inequality. We are also interested in how age, ethnicity, sexuality and other characteristics affect women's experiences.