Street harassment can be a lot of things, but basically if you are offended by someone’s behaviour towards you in a public setting – that’s harassment.

Street harassment can be things like:

• Cat calling
• Verbal abuse
• Insulting comments
• Unwanted touching
• Invasions of personal space
• Whistling
• Yelling
• Staring

Unfortunately, street harassment is really common and happens to lots of people. This behaviour is a form of bullying, and it can make you feel pretty crappy when it happens.

All too often women and gender diverse people are at the receiving end of hostile or aggressive attention from strangers, who are usually men. There are a few reasons why this happens, and it’s got a lot to do with the privileges that men (especially straight white cisgender men) enjoy, and unequal power relations in society.  

Our tips for dealing with street harassment:

Rule #1: Trust your gut 

If you get that bad feeling in your stomach, trust your instincts and do whatever you need to to keep yourself safe.

Rule #2: Don’t worry about being polite

You don’t owe it to anyone to be polite. Who cares if someone you don’t know thinks you’re rude? Your safety is the most important thing, so don’t worry about good manners.

If you’re being harassed in public, try to remember that:

It’s your right to leave the situation
If you feel uncomfortable, it’s absolutely fine to leave the area. Change seats, switch carriages, and cross the street. Again – don’t worry about being polite.

It’s your right to tell the person to stop
If you feel able to, tell the person to stop talking to you or to leave you alone.

If you’re feeling uncomfortable, call someone.
Call a friend or adult you trust. You could have an unrelated conversation, which will tell the harasser that you’re busy and you’re not at all interested in interacting with them. If you’re feeling anxious, call a friend or an adult, and tell them exactly where you are and what the situation is, so they can help you out.

If you’re feeling unsafe, call the police
If you feel like the situation is escalating, call 000 for help.

What should we do if we witness street harassment?

If you are in a situation where someone else needs help, you need to make a judgment call about what to do. Only do what you feel you are able to do while watching out for your own safety.

These steps are known as the 5Ds of bystander intervention:

Distract 

This is getting involved without getting involved – creatively shifting focus. Distracting can mean a lot of different things, all of which shift attention from the harasser. 

• Ask the victim an unrelated question (time, directions etc)
• Strike up a conversation with the victim about anything other than the harassment
• Pretend to know the victim – interrupt pretending to be a long-lost friend 
• If you’re in a confined space like a tram, train, or bus, pretend to drop something like your coffee or a bunch of coins. 
• If these seem like unsafe options, simply moving to stand or sit closer to the person being harassed is a good way to let them know that they are not alone. 

Distracting in these ways will cause a commotion and take attention away from the perpetrator. 

Delegate

This is when you notify someone around you of the situation. It is important to be as clear as possible about the situation and what you would like the other person to do about it. 

• This could be as simple as turning to the person next to you and saying “I’m concerned about how that man in the blue hat is looking at that woman with the green scarf. Could you go stand in between them with me?”
• Alternatively, in public areas, you could locate someone of authority. This could be a bus driver, station worker, teacher, or store supervisor.
• If the person is in immediate physical danger then it might be appropriate to contact the police. However, it is best not to contact law enforcement without the consent of the person being harassed. For many communities, their history with law enforcement is rife with mistreatment and violence. Contacting the police may not be appropriate or helpful for them. 

Document

Only document the situation if you are safe.

•  Documentation can be writing down what you hear the harasser say or a description of them. It is best to the as detailed as possible. 
• You could also film the incident on your phone. If this is unsafe, you could also just voice-record the incident so that the perpetrator wouldn’t know. 
• Remember: it is never ok to post footage or sound recordings of another person without their consent. Especially if it is a traumatic situation. 

Delay 

This refers to a delayed response. Sometimes the incident occurs too quickly for you as a bystander to do something about, so these are some ways to support a victim after an attack. 

• Ask them if they’re okay, and let them know you saw what happened and it wasn’t okay.
• Ask them if there’s any way you can support them.
• Offer to accompany them to their destination or sit with them for a while.
• Share resources with them and offer to help them make a report if they want to.
• If you’ve documented the incident, ask them if they want you to give them the documentation. 

Direct 

You may be in a position to directly address the perpetrator. If so, you can let them know directly that their behaviour is not ok. However, this may be risky as it could escalate the situation. First, ask yourself:

1. Are you physically safe? 
2. Is the person being harassed physically safe? 
3. Does it seem unlikely that the situation will escalate? 
4. Can you tell if the person being harassed wants someone to speak up?

It will always be safer to engage with the person being attacked rather than the attacker. But if you do choose to intervene, you might:

• Name it: “That’s inappropriate,” “That’s homophobic,” “That’s disrespectful,” “That’s racist,” “That’s not okay,” “That’s harassment,” etc.
• Ask them to leave: “Leave them alone.” “Please stop right now.”
• Support the victim: “They’ve asked you to leave them alone and I’m here to support them.”

Remember to always prioritise your safety and assess the situation before getting involved. 

Further resources you can access: 

If you’ve experienced street harassment, and it’s upset you in any way – it can really make you feel better to talk about it.

When you’re feeling stressed out it can be easy to forget that there are people you can call on for help like your friends, a trusted adult or your school counsellor.

 If you’d prefer to talk to someone else: 

• Kids Helpline is a free, private, and confidential phone and online counselling service specifically for young people in Australia. 
• Eheadspace offers free online and telephone support and counselling to young people 12 – 25 and their families and friends.
• Beyond blue offers free online and telephone support and counselling to young people 24/7. You can also anonymously connect with others who might be experiencing similar things to you.