Credit: Our Streets Now
Justice is important, but prevention is paramount.
The Campaign
Our Streets Now is a group of young volunteer campaigners who pour their hearts and souls into changing the world, so it is a safer, better, and fairer place for all. They describe themselves as ‘an unapologetically intersectional motivated network of women, girls and people of marginalised gender organising against public sexual harassment’ (PSH).
PSH is the most common form of violence against women and girls. According to Our Streets Now, one in five girls aged 14-21 years have experienced PSH and 90% of their Instagram followers said public sexual harassment has affected their mental health. Yet PSH is belittled, ignored, and normalised. Our Streets Now wanted to change that.
Women and girls change their clothing, take different routes home, can avoid socialising at night entirely, and may even consider changing their jobs or homes because of it. The testimonies Our Streets Now received reinforces the fact that every aspect of young women’s lives is affected by PSH. Whether it’s deciding not to go for a run outdoors or being late to school, PSH can have far-reaching consequences.
Credit: Our Streets Now
We wanted people to be able to see themselves in our illustrations, and we chose bright positive colours to show the strength, power, and sense of community among survivors of public sexual harassment. We hope that these images will help start a conversation and ultimately change the culture around public sexual harassment in the UK.”
Credit: Our Streets Now
We wanted people to be able to see themselves in our illustrations, and we chose bright positive colours to show the strength, power, and sense of community among survivors of public sexual harassment. We hope that these images will help start a conversation and ultimately change the culture around public sexual harassment in the UK.”
The Change
Our Streets Now engaged in a three year #CrimeNotCompliment campaign to criminalise public sexual harassment. Sisters Gemma and Maya Tutton were inspired by the fact that street harassment is now illegal in France, Belgium, and Portugal. They started a Change.org petition in April 2019 that targeted Liz Truss (then Minister for Women & Equalities) and sought to make PSH a crime. Over the next few years, the petition gained 464,360 signatures.
Art and illustration are at the core of Our Streets Now’s campaign work. They have over 50,000 Instagram followers.
They encouraged their network to get active on social media, talk to MPs about the need for legislation and spread the word about the negative impact of PSH in their communities. Vicky Foxcroft MP and Shadow Minister for Disabilities supported the campaign saying, ‘I firmly believe a new law which makes street harassment a specific criminal offence needs to be introduced.’
The campaign has resulted in a change in national policy. After three years of campaigning, on 18 September, 2023, the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill passed its third and final reading in the House of Lords. The Bill – which introduced tougher sentences for certain types of harassment – has now become law and is known as the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023.
The Future
The legislation is a good starting point, and a step in the right direction, but there is still more work to be done. Our Streets Now will now focus on working with Parliament and the Government to make sure this legislation is feminist and delivers what is required – protecting all those impacted by public sexual harassment.
Legal change alone will not end this problem – we also need cultural change across the UK. That’s why Our Streets Now are working with councils, schools, universities, and transport providers to raise awareness of PSH, educate young people on its impact, and ultimately work towards prevention. Justice is important, but prevention is paramount.
Who else was involved?
The charity Plan International UK partnered with Our Streets Now in the #CrimeNotCompliment campaign. Greg Clark, Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells, initially tabled the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill following the Private Members Bill ballot in May 2022.
