And in this thread it’s over to you. After #ididnotreport revealed an epidemic of non-reporting, both of street harassment and serious attack, what can we do to stop street harassment?
It’s not a change to the law we necessarily need to see. We already have laws in place to deal with street harassment: following a woman down a street calling her a slut is a s.4A public order offence, for example. Without a specific intention to cause alarm, such behaviour is still a s.5 public order offence. Sexual assault is obviously an offence, and the starting point according to the Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines, for non-genital contact with part of a victim other than genitals (eg boob-grabbing) is a medium level community order.
The laws are there. The sentencing guidelines are there. Why is it still happening, and what would you do to stop it if you were in charge?