As a society we tend to have a very dismissive attitude towards sexual harassment. Many people consider it to be ‘just a catcall’, so what exactly is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
This can be a catcall, someone not taking “no” for an answer when they ask for your number, or being publicly masturbated at. All of which I have experienced and none of which have felt like a “compliment”.
I spoke to Debjani Roy, Deputy Director at ‘Hollaback!’, a global organisation who campaign to end street harassment, about sexual harassment and the importance of talking about it. “The goal of Hollaback! has been to say ‘actually no, this is unwanted, this is not desirable’, especially since harassment sits on a very broad spectrum of acts,” she said, adding, “They can start with a comment, but can turn into something worse like being followed and, of course, being assaulted.”
Many women and men will experience sexual harassment from a very young age. So what impact does this have on people?
Speaking on this, Debjani Roy said that it has psychological impacts, from anxiety, to depression, to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially if it happens regularly and alongside other forms of gender based violence.
Roy also spoke about the behavioral impacts it can have, explaining how victims of sexual harassment will start to rearrange certain aspects of their life in order to avoid experiencing this treatment regularly.
From simple things like not wearing a lipstick that you notice tends to attract unwanted attention, to switching your route to work so that you don’t cross paths with someone who regularly passes comment on you.
In this day and age, we should not have to go out of our way just so we can get our groceries, or head to work in peace.
There is also confusion as to what is acceptable, such as “but what if I just think someone’s really good looking and want to compliment them?”, to which Debjani Roy replies, “First of all, nobody asked,” she says with chuckle, adding that she never asked what you thought of her body. I couldn’t have put it simpler myself.
If you’re out in public to go shopping, walk your dog, or head to work, you don’t want your body being judged or commented on.
As a hard working 21-year-old, who is in college, has a part-time job, and interns part-time, your comments on my body are not a compliment.
There’s a lot more I care about than my looks, so your comments don’t make me feel better about myself, they just make me uncomfortable, and disturb my peace while I try to go about my busy life. Whether you’re young or old, male or female, I’m sure you can relate.
A quick google search will show up very few results for any sexual harassment campaigns, or groups, in Ireland. It is rarely discussed here. Hollaback! encourage people to take the power back, to start discussing incidents, and to share their stories.
It’s time we started talking about this ‘normalised’ invasive behavior and not just accept that there’s nothing we can do.
Michelle Bourke
