Written submission from a member of the public (SPP0005)

I am a [35-44] year old, white, British female living in [location], I am a mother of two children [ages], have been diagnosed with PTSD and general anxiety [date]. I am unable to work because of my mental illness. I am submitting this evidence because I want to make Britain a safer place for all women and girls and believe that it has to come from government in order to have meaningful impact.

Main Points for Submission:

 

  1. My first memory of street harassment was at the age [15-18] when I was out walking with my boyfriend during the day time and a group of men stood outside a pub, drinking shouted “you fucking slag!” at me. I was terrified and upset. My boyfriend was stunned and he urged us to walk away. Since then, I have been subjected to hundreds of examples unwanted attention in the streets but I shall focus on incidents which stand out.

 

  1. Walking the streets and getting beeped, men slowing down hanging out of car and work van windows shouting and wooping at me. I could be out for a run, or just walking from A to B.

 

  1. Men asking me to “smile, it can’t be that bad” or making inappropriate comments about my breasts, bottom or clothing when simply minding my own business, walking somewhere.

 

  1. Men asking me where I am going, and if they can come too. This has even happened on my doorstep as I am leaving to go about my business.

 

  1. About 4 years ago, I was approached by a man who stopped his car, ran over to me and said I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He put a business card in my hand and asked me to go to his private studio. I was extremely frightened and tried to downplay the situation saying “I’ll think about it”.

 

  1. I used to go to the library every day, to self-study [subject]. I enjoyed the peace and learning. Until two men started to sit at my table to ask me about what I was doing and why. I didn’t want to seem impolite but found it very distracting and off-putting. One of the men gave me his number and wanted to have my social media info. I moved to another table and all seemed well until a man sat opposite me and just stared and stared, constantly. Not taking his eyes off me for a second. I asked for help with the librarian but she said there was nothing they could do. I was so frightened and frustrated by the experience and lack of support, that I ran out of the library and had a panic attack out in the street. I asked a friend to come and pick me up. I have not been back to the library since as I do not feel safe.

 

  1. I was sat in a bar during the day, again I was studying. One by one, older men in their late 40s and 50s, drunk, demanded to know what I was doing. They had me explain the business plan I was trying to write. They laughed and thought it was strange that a woman would be doing that. One man snatched my pen out of my hand and scrawled his phone number across a page. He told me how rich he was. I didn’t go back there.

 

  1. I was out running recently, along the beach. Running allows me freedom and a sense of empowerment. A man suddenly jumped out at me and screamed in my face, laughing at me. I was so upset and frightened, I ran into the sea, crying. I then became very angry and I sprinted towards the man, knocking into him before running away. I ran home, broke down crying and shaking and I have not gotten over the experience. I cannot go out running alone anymore as I don’t feel safe.

 

  1. I was out one evening, 2 years ago running to get to the shop before it closed. Two drunk men jumped out at me and tried to trip me over. I stopped and turned around, asking them why they had done such a thing. They laughed and said they were celebrating winning £50 at the casino. I was enraged and advanced on them, shouting at them. They were upset that I didn’t take it as a joke that they’d assaulted me.

 

  1. I have been out in the company of my boyfriend and still been honked, still been approached, still been harassed by men.

 

  1. In the workplace, I have been sexually assaulted and raped by male colleagues. I don’t want to describe the details here as it’s extremely difficult to recall. A male friend at the time of the sexual assault said words I shall never forget. “The problem was that you responded to his emails saying you weren’t interested. These types don’t take no for an answer, they think ‘well she is replying so she must be playing hard to get’. You have to completely ignore them”. Ignoring men makes them angry and volatile. Politely saying no invites them to try harder to “get me”. Responding aggressively puts me at risk of physical harm too. There is literally no way to stop harassment happening on our own.

 

  1. For over 20 years I have had these kinds of experiences which have built up over time, a cumulative effect. I have to mentally prepare myself to go anywhere and have my guard up at all times, in case I am approached or attacked. I avoid wearing nice clothes and makeup as this tends to attract even more unwanted attention. But in my experience, I could be wearing scruffy clothes and still be attacked. It’s not the clothes or the make-up; it’s the fact that I am very obviously female in what is perceived as male spaces. (“what was she doing out alone, what does she expect” victim blaming rhetoric.) It’s not even about attracting a sexual partner; it never is, because the men are so disrespectful and aggressive. It’s about asserting power and dominance over what they see as the “weaker” sex, it feeds egos and a sense of entitlement and it helps them if women are dehumanised into sexual objects, created for the gratification of men. It’s down to toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes that are pushed in the UK every day in the media.

 

  1. If I am approached or attacked, I have to make a choice to try to downplay the situation by being “polite” so not to anger them, or choose to defend myself. Responding to a simple “hello” or “good morning” can quickly escalate because men see it as an invitation to harass me or come on to me. There is a world of difference between saying hello and what these men are doing. You can see it in their body language, the way they look at you and the tone in their voices.

 

Suggestions For Change

 

  1. Years ago, workmen on building sites used to be really bad for whistling and harassing passing women, but laws were passed and national campaigns appeared on media that meant if a woman reported them, they could get fired, since then, there has been a massive improvement and worksites are not areas I should avoid, in my experience. But men (both alone and in groups) on the street seem to think they own the streets and it is their right to approach any woman to harass us. There is no comeuppance at the moment. The police don’t help and when I reported harassment to a city Ranger, they said there was nothing they could do as “words” are not against the law. These men are in suits, in evening wear, in casual wear, they are rich, they are poor and they are homeless too. The streets are a terrifying place for women and girls in the UK.

 

  1. The problem is that men don’t fear any reprisal or consequences for street and workplace harassment. Misogyny absolutely needs to be made a hate crime and there needs to be a government level campaign to deter men from behaving this way, teaching men that it is not acceptable to behave this way. I refer to the late night advertising campaign focussed on raping women, which was hard hitting but short lived. It needs to be a campaign that reaches everyone. It needs to start at appropriate age school level and continue in adulthood. Women and girls must have a way to report this type of behaviour and for it to be punishable in law. But if the culture changes with a big and lasting campaign filtered down from government level, then a need to report will decrease over time. People will be safer and happier, there will be less people who have mental illness from trauma and will take the pressure off the healthcare system. I have debilitating PTSD and anxiety from the years and years of the culture of male violence and of rape, sexual assault and harassment. I don’t wish this on anyone else.

January 2018