Published this month, the results of a YouGov survey (commissioned by a national coalition of women’s organisations) have shown that the vast majority of women aged under 25 have been sexually harassed, and that two thirds of all women have experienced sexual harassment, making it the most common form of abuse in the UK.
Some of the survey’s key findings include:
Only 11% of women reported that someone else intervened when they experienced unwanted sexual touching in a public place, while 81% said they would have liked someone to do so.
Of the women who have received unwanted sexual attention and unwanted sexual touching, more than a quarter were aged under 16 the first time it happened.
More than three quarters, a large majority, were under 21 when they first experienced unwanted sexual attention.
Significantly more women than men say they feel unsafe in public places (63% of women versus 45% of men).
Almost half of the women polled are doing conscious “safety planning” if they go out in the evenings, such as avoiding public transport and paying for taxis (42%), leaving early (47%) and taking a different route (42%).
Sarah Green, Acting Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, had this to say:
“Sexual harassment is an everyday experience which women and girls learn to deal with, but it’s time to hold a mirror up to it and challenge it.
“We did this survey to find out about the scale of sexual harassment and the impact it has on the way women live. If women are planning their lives around not being harassed or assaulted, they are not free. Women should be free to live their lives without the threat of harassment and violence, not having to plan and limit their choices to make sure they’re safe.”
Read more about the survey’s findings and EVAW’s response at the End Violence Against Women site.