Written submission from Safer Streets Sheffield
Know the Line Campaign (SPP0048
Executive Summary and recommendations
- Sexual harrassment of women and girls is increasing and this is having a detrimental affect on women and girls in their day to day lives.
- Our campaign is for male and female supporters to model positive gender relationships and use some simple campaign slogans to creatively challenge cultural attitudes and encourage others to become part of the story, within their families, communities, workplaces, education institutions, sports clubs, social venues etc.
- The first priority should be to instruct all Police & Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to put systems in place to recognise and record misogyny as hate crime.
- Guidelines need to be included in the revised ‘Keeping children safe in Education’ guidelines due to be published shortly.
- Funding for nationwide public awareness campaigns, similar to ours, to challenge attitudes and force culture change [building on the momentum generated by women with the #metoo #timesup social media campaigns]
- Funding is needed for specialist services to support women and girls, and for training and support to help bystanders intervene.
Who are we?
Safer Streets Sheffield and the Know the Line Campaign comes out of the experiences of sexual harassment of women and girls in Sheffield. We are a collaboration of local groups and individuals who have come together to create a public awareness campaign about sexual harassment of women and girls in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
We are all volunteers who feel strongly that women should feel safe to get on with their lives without fear of harrassment or worse. We are making this submission as we believe our campaign offers a way forwards to help tackle sexual harassment of women and girls.
1 The scale and impact of sexual harassment of women and girls in public places
1.1 How widespread is sexual harassment of women and girls in public places and what form does it take? Do we know whether this has increased or decreased over time?
The campaign has not conducted its own survey but Professor Maggie Wykes from the University of Sheffield Law Department has recently carried out this local research:
https://knowthelineblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/everyday-sexism-in-sheffield-univ-of-sheff-research.pdf
1.1.1 We also have the following figures on crimes related to domestic and sexual offences from CPS and South Yorkshire Police:
Prosecutions for rape in S. Yorkshire 2016-17:
118 prosecutions, 62 convictions = 52.5%
Prosecutions for other sexual offences in S. Yorkshire:
256 prosecutions, 207 convictions = 81%
[CPS VAWG Report for England & Wales 2016-17]
- sexual abuse offences reported to SY Police in Sheffield:
2013-14: 2016-17: 3 year increase:
512 1,229 140%
- domestic abuse incidents reported to SYP in Sheffield:
2013-14: 2016-17: 3 year increase:
11,369 12,029 3.5%
[Sheffield Domestic & Sexual Abuse Strategy 2018-22]
1.1.2 Other useful statistics:
- TUC and Everyday Sexism Project[1]: 52% of women reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment at work; nearly a quarter (23%) had been touched without invitation at work, a fifth (20%) had experienced sexual advances at work
- Drinkaware[2]: 63% of women and 26% of men have been on the receiving end of sexual harassment; 79% of women reported having been on the receiving end of inappropriate comments, unwanted touching or groping; 72% of respondents reported having seen sexual harassment in some form
- The Children’s Society[3]: 34% of teenage girls worry about being followed by a stranger
- Girlguiding[4]: 32% of girls aged 11-21 feel unsafe when they are out by themselves
- YouGov Poll 2016 – you will have this data – see quoted in postcard at end of submission
1.2 Who are the perpetrators and the victims, and how does it happen?
Male perpetrators come from all sections of society. Know the Line have produced a video available on Youtube which documents the testimonies of local women, talking about where and how they have been sexually harassed in day to day situations. The link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JId0LBuYlUQ and the video is Sexual harassment of women in Sheffield.
1.3 What is the impact of sexual harassment on the lives of women and girls?
Our video testimonies ask how the women felt [and some are clearly still feeling those effects]: they are angry, upset, embarrassed, scared, frightened, physically shaky, numb, cross, anxious. They feel disrespected, sick, dirty, intimidated, violated. They have no way of knowing what is going to happen next. They change their appearance, where they go, and how they behave, to avoid attention.
1.4 Are there other effects, such as on bystanders, or on society in general?
Research shows that the bystander effect can be complicated. In our experience many women want to intervene and support other women and girls who are being sexually harassed but they are afraid for their own safety or of making the situation worse.
For some men, there is a different journey from bystander to perpetrator. They may hear name calling and sexist banter and be apathetic bystanders, ie choosing not to challenge or intervene. Or they may observe the behaviour and the lack of consequences and become perpetrators themselves, some of whom then go on to become core offenders who commit crimes such as assault and rape.
A University of Kent study[5] concluded that sexually objectifying a woman can lead to aggression towards women, and that the link between catcalling and aggression can begin to develop in early teen years, and as they age, can lead to the harmful perception that women are solely to be seen as sexual objects.
Addressing inappropriate behaviour can be an important intervention. If not challenged, sexual harassment can create an atmosphere that can normalise inappropriate behaviours, and provide an environment that may lead to problematic, abusive and/or violent behaviour in the future.
1.5 Evidence from Know the Line application to Sheffield City Council Cohesion Fund:
1.5.1 The issue of gender inequality, and in particular sexual harassment of women and girls, is a potentially divisive one, and most of the campaigning and awareness raising work has tended to be left to women’s organisations. Adding to the complexity, people struggle to have useful conversations when statements are made about the ethnicity of perpetrators [particularly in relation to CSE].
1.5.2 The campaign has become an opportunity for women, men and young people from a wide range of roles and backgrounds, to come together and share their ideas and skills, to make clear where they draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour towards women and girls, regardless of, for example, age, culture, ethnicity or ability.
1.5.3 It will be part of the challenge of the campaign for male and female supporters to model positive gender relationships and use some simple campaign slogans to creatively challenge cultural attitudes and encourage others to become part of the story, within their families, communities, workplaces, education institutions, sports clubs, social venues etc.
1.5.4 We aim to continue the initiative through encouraging members of the public to suggest new slogans, perhaps aimed at different audiences or communities.
1.6 what gaps exist in the evidence about sexual harassment in public places?
As far as we are aware no major public surveys have taken place since the You Gov one in 2016 and there is nowhere to systematically report such incidents.
2 Why does sexual harassment of women and girls in public places happen?
2.1 What are the factors (including social and cultural factors) that lead to sexual harassment of women and girls in public places?
The prevailing culture of casual misogyny and everyday sexism create an environment in which sexual harassment is ‘normalised’, and seen as inevitable, rather than abusive and offensive.
2.2 How can negative attitudes and behaviours be changed?
It is crucial to start as young as possible: require all nurseries, schools and colleges to include units on gender equality, and from primary age onwards, sexual harassment, in their emerging Relationships & Sex Education curriculum – bringing in external specialists if needed. This needs to be included in the new guidelines ‘Keeping children safe in education’.
3 Preventing and responding to sexual harassment of women and girls in public places
3.1 How should the Government tackle sexual harassment in public places?
The first priority should be to instruct all Police & Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to put systems in place to recognise and record misogyny as hate crime. This will give a very clear message to the whole population about the culture change that is now being demanded.
The term used should be ‘misogyny’ rather than diluted to ‘gender’, in the same way as homophobic hate crime is called ‘homophobia’ rather than ‘sexuality’ as it occurs in one direction. If men feel they experience hate crime as a result of their gender, that should be separately recorded as ‘misandry’.
3.2 In South Yorkshire, Know the Line are offering the following advice from our website.
By reporting incidents we can build a picture of the extent of misogyny hate crime in South Yorkshire, and campaign for a national steer to update the categories. At present, incidents that happen in Sheffield can be reported via Stop Hate UK – they have a category for hate crime based on gender identity: https://www.stophateuk.org/sheffield/
Incidents happening anywhere in South Yorkshire can be reported to South Yorkshire Police [whether classed as a ‘crime’ or not]:online via https://www.reportingcrime.uk/SYPincidentreport/
or by ringing 101 [or 999 in an emergency]
SY Police do not currently have a Hate Crime category for misogyny or gender-based incidents, but their hate crime leads do encourage women and girls to make clear to the Police if you consider that you have been targeted because you are female, and consider it to be a hate crime due to prejudice/hostility based on your gender.
Many people do not know or understand what is meant by ‘hate crime’ and so wouldn’t report it as such, but the police can identify it as a hate crime incident, based on what is reported. Remember – reporting can be anonymous, and there is no requirement to make a statement or pursue a prosecution, but it is important that we capture information that illustrates the whole spectrum of offensive behavior that starts with catcalling and unwanted touching and can end in rape and serious sexual assault.
It’s really important to report sexual harassment of any kind, but we also all need to take action and talk to the men and boys in our lives about the impact their behavior can have on women and girls.
3.3 What are the police, local authorities or other bodies doing to tackle sexual harassment in public places? Who else has a role?
3.3.1 In Sheffield a broad range of agencies have supported our campaign, and many spoke at the public launch on 24 November 2017.
Superintendent Paul McCurry from South Yorkshire Police said: “We will be attending the [Know the Line] launch event to show our support for this campaign. Combating sexual harassment of women and girls in any city, in any situation, is our shared purpose.
“Nobody should feel afraid to walk along the street, or go on an evening out with friends, in case they are subjected to verbal, sexual or physical abuse, but this is sadly an increasing concern and reality for many women and girls.
“Street harassment can be an incredibly upsetting experience and impactive for its victims, and this campaign aims to educate individuals on what behaviour is ‘over the line’ and how what may be considered by some to be an innocent act or joke, may be a crime and have significant and detrimental consequences on the victim subjected to that behaviour.
“We also hope this campaign and its important message empowers bystanders to call out those engaging in sexual harassment and to show solidarity with women and girls subjected to it.”
3.3.2 Maureen Storey, Director, Vida Sheffield said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe. Sexual harassment shouldn’t be a ‘normal’ part of daily life for women and girls. They don’t have to put up with it, and we want to encourage them to report these incidents as hate crimes. We also want bystanders to call this behaviour out and actively show their support – we can work together to make South Yorkshire safer for all of us.”
3.3.3 Louise Haigh MP said: “Tackling sexual harassment against women and girls is one of the most important issues in the fight for equality. I’m really glad to see this campaign launched to open people’s eyes to the reality of this awful behaviour – and how they can help stop it.
“It’s hugely important that all these agencies work together to tackle sexual harassment, make clear that it isn’t acceptable anywhere, and show that people will stand up to stop it if they see it.”
3.3.4 Cllr Cate McDonald, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care at Sheffield City Council, said: “We welcome the launch of this campaign, which will address these key challenges. It is really important that everyone ‘knows the line’ and that no-one should have to be in fear of harassment on the streets of Sheffield.”
3.3.5 Dr Alan Billings, the Police & Crime Commissioner said: “We have had 3,000 years of patriarchy” and indicated that we are pushing an open door in getting him to recognise misogyny as hate crime locally. However, SY Police still say they are waiting for a ‘national steer’ before taking further steps.
3.4 Are more or different laws needed? Or do existing laws need to be better understood or enforced?
See above - we think acts of misogyny should be recognised as hate crime – the definition of hate crime is that it is motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person’s age, disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity. The list does not yet include misogyny, in spite of gender being a protected characteristic in The Equality Act 2010, and everyone knowing that sexual harassment is targeted at women and girls because we are female.
This is not about creating a new crime – the crimes already exist [e.g. sexual assault, harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, malicious communications etc] and some experiences don’t reach the threshold of a ‘crime’ and are recorded as ‘incidents’ instead.
What we are asking for is an additional category of hate crime, so that where any incidents or crimes are targeted by men or boys at women and girls because we are female, they are ALSO recognised and recorded as hate crime, in the same way as e.g. racist, or homophobic hate crime. [see above re why the category must be ‘misogyny’ rather than ‘gender’]
3.5 Is current support adequate for victims of sexual harassment in public places?
We do not believe it is adequate. There need to be clear messages from the Police that sexual harassment will be taken seriously, but this in itself is not enough. There is little support for women and girls who have suffered the ‘low level’ everyday harassment highlighted in our video. Indeed, there is insufficient support for women and girls who are the victims of major crimes, as Rape and Sexual Abuse Centres will confirm. Our website lists the support available in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
3.6 Are there good practice examples or innovative thinking about tackling sexual harassment in the public realm either in the UK or internationally?
The Safer Streets Sheffield group has developed a local campaign against sexual harassment called Know the Line – launched in November 2017.
Campaign briefing below:
sexual harassment
know where the line is
Safer Streets South Yorkshire: Briefing January 2018
Safer Streets South Yorkshire and the Know the Line campaign came about after speaking with local women and girls about their experiences of street harassment. This covers the spectrum that starts with cat-calling from vehicles, and groping in pubs and clubs, and can end in rape and serious sexual assault, making them feel intimidated, uncomfortable and fearful. Many women and girls control their movements and behaviour, to the point where they feel they cannot be in public spaces alone, especially after dark.
This campaign comes out of the experiences of women in Sheffield – we are also aware of data from the UK’s first national street harassment study, in which 64% of women of all ages said they had experienced unwanted sexual harassment in public places. In the younger age group of 16-24, this rose to 85% who had faced sexual harassment in public spaces and 45% had experienced unwanted sexual touching. Local research shows similar results.
Building on a successful Australian public awareness campaign against sexual harassment, we have created a poster and social media campaign, launched in November 2017 with the strapline Know the Line. The campaign materials pair examples of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours, above and below a line. The campaign has created a new website [ www.knowtheline.org ] with links to further information and sources of support, and we are developing a series of short videos on YouTube – starting with these testimonies from local women about their experiences in Sheffield: https://www.youtube.com/my_videos?o=U and the video is sexual harassment of women in Sheffield.
Who the campaign is aimed at
We are deliberately designing the campaign to speak to all sections of our communities, and in particular:
- men and boys who think it’s ok to pester, harass and even abuse someone just because they are female
- women and girls whose lives are affected by their abusive behaviour
- bystanders – who can call out unacceptable behaviour, and find ways to show their support e.g. by positioning themselves alongside the target of the abuse
Who we are
We are a collaboration of local groups and individuals who have come together to create a public awareness campaign about sexual harassment of women and girls in South Yorkshire. We are all volunteering our time, and feel strongly that women and girls should feel safe to get on with their lives in South Yorkshire without fear of harassment or worse.
Partners
As well as individuals, the following groups are involved in or supporting Sheffield’s Know the Line campaign:
● Local student bodies, universities and schools
● The Women’s Equality Party (Sheffield Branch)
● Vida Sheffield and the WAGI Recovery & Empowerment Partnership
● Sheffield Women’s Hub & VAWG Working Group
● Sheffield Feminist Network
● Safe Spaces Sheffield
● South Yorkshire Police
● Sheffield City Council, including DACT & City Centre Ambassadors
● Sheffield BID
Misogyny as Hate Crime
Misogyny is the label given to negative attitudes, behaviours and abuse directed at women and girls because they are female. Although misogyny is not yet formally recorded as hate crime on a national basis, that is now the case in some police force areas, including Nottinghamshire and North Yorkshire. Nottingham Women’s Centre pioneered this work in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police. Alongside our Know the Line campaign, the Safer Streets campaign group and our partners are also working with South Yorkshire Police and the Police & Crime Commissioner to explore when those changes will happen in South Yorkshire.
Progress so far:
● 4 public workshops in 2016-17 to establish the focus and purpose of the campaign
● Steering group established to coordinate the campaign
● Contact with Australian ‘Know the Line’ campaign for permission to use their format
● Filmed short ‘testimonies’ with local women and girls about their experiences, and the impact on their lives
● Agreed first slogans and produced initial posters and postcards for launch
● Successful bid to the city centre Business Improvement District (BID) for £1000, plus a small amount of crowd-funding
● Exploring other funding options through partnerships with local organisations to sustain the campaign into the future – bid in progress to the Police & Crime Commissioner Grant Scheme, to extend the campaign across South Yorkshire
● Support from Sheffield MPs – in particular Paul Blomfield and Louise Haigh [now Shadow Policing Minister] and Gill Furniss
● Linking with the strategic work of the VAWG Working Group of Sheffield Women’s Hub and Sheffield Feminist Network
● Links with schools, the Gender Respect Project and Learn Sheffield about developing resources to support work in local schools
● Launched the campaign 24 November 2017, with an energetic multi-agency event to mark the International Day to End Violence Against Women [25 Nov each year] - A4 posters and first 3 postcards, with a…
● public multi-agency event with short, focused speeches from a range of speakers including VAWG sector, Louise Haigh MP, Alan Billings [Police & Crime Commissioner], SY Police, and pioneers of work to recognise misogyny as hate crime in Nottinghamshire
● Other ‘soft launches’ are being planned with different audiences e.g. running clubs, students, community organisations in different parts of South Yorkshire
● Excellent press, radio and social media coverage, linked to #metoo campaign
What you can do to support the campaign
● Help secure funding and donations to extend the reach of the campaign [account details: Sheffield Women’s Network | sort code: 05-08-03 | A/c no: 21889130]
● Engage colleagues / service users / clients / customers / family members in conversations about the issues raised by the campaign
● Identify women and girls from a range of backgrounds to consider talking about their experiences in short film clips [identity can be disguised, no obligation to use them]
● Suggest other ‘soft launch’ events, and promote the social media campaign
● Suggest new pairings of behaviours for future postcards…
● Distribute the printed campaign materials – copies via the email address below…
Contact: saferstreetssheffield@gmail.com | www.knowtheline.org
Twitter: @knowthelineSY #knowtheline #thisisharassment #metoo #timesup #VAWG
See below for the first 3 postcards, depicting acceptable and unacceptable behaviours above and below the line… we are still actively engaging local people to develop new slogans to add over time, and particularly language that will appeal to a younger audience.
