Most women experience sexual street harassment: Report

While most women have been harassed on the street at some time in their lives, a new survey has found women in minority groups experience that public abuse layered with racism and homophobia. A report by the Victorian organisation It’s Not a Compliment has shown how prevalent and traumatic unwanted attention can be for women in public spaces, and how it can be layered with racist or homophobic abuse.

The harassment Grace has experienced is also racist. Source: Supplied

A report, titled 'A Snapshot of Street Harassment Experiences in Victoria,' gathered the testimonies of 343 anonymous responders between August and November last year.

 Some of the findings show that almost 90 per cent of participants had experienced street harassment in the last six months.

 Seventy-five per cent experienced it at least once a month.

Natasha Sharma is a research and policy officer with  'It's not a compliment. 

She says many victims of public space harassment often struggle with mental health issues as a result.

"Outcomes from experiences with harassment are usually like a lot of depression and anxiety reported in the immediate aftermath and then also long-term effects afterwards. A lot of them will have changed their routes, their local routes wherever they go walking to the shops or university, basically just limiting their own access in public spaces."

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