Street harassment is a problem that occurs worldwide. Anyone can experience it. Unfortunately, women, girls, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community are regularly harassed in public. They are, for example, verbally abused, subjected to sexually explicit comments, or followed on the street.
Street harassment isn’t limited to the streets or to nightlife. It also happens in shopping centers, supermarkets, and other public spaces. You might be stared at during a walk in the park, or receive an inappropriate comment while cycling.
Forms of street harassment
Street harassment comes in different forms: non-verbal, verbal, and physical. Sometimes it starts small. Someone whistles as you walk by, hisses at you, or stares at your body for minutes as if you’re an object. Or you suddenly notice someone deliberately following you, on foot or driving slowly behind you in a car. This is non-verbal behavior that doesn’t need words to make you feel unsafe.
The second form is verbal: explicit comments about your body, sexual innuendos, or unsolicited questions like, “Can I have your number?”, “Are you going home, can I come with you?”, or if you’re queer: “Do you want a threesome?” If you don’t play along, the comments can suddenly turn into insults like: “Whore,” “Slut,” “Bitch.”
Finally, there is physical street harassment: a hand suddenly on your butt during a night out. Someone touching you without your consent or suddenly pushing you against a wall. Sometimes even someone trying to drag you into an alley. That’s not just intimidating, it comes dangerously close to assault.
What all these forms have in common is that they are not compliments. They’re meant to control, dominate, or make you feel like you don’t belong in public spaces. And that feeling that you have to be careful, that you have to think about your clothes or your route lingers and leaves its mark.
Who are the victims and perpetrators of street harassment?
Although anyone can experience it, it is primarily women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ individuals who are frequently targeted by street harassment. The reason these groups are targeted more often is not a coincidence. Street harassment is rooted in social power dynamics and gender norms. It’s a way of putting people who “deviate from the norm” in their place. For LGBTQIA+ people, it is often a punishment for breaking gender expectations or sexual norms, such as holding hands with your partner.
In theory, anyone can commit street harassment, but in practice, the perpetrators are almost always men. In fact, in 70% of cases, the harasser is a man (Plan International). This is related to deeply ingrained gender roles about how men are supposed to behave in society. In our society, power is still often exercised over women and queer people.
The media plays a role in this. Think, for example, of music, porn, or advertisements that portray women as sex objects. Peer pressure among boys also reinforces this behavior: in groups, some feel the need to prove their masculinity. If young people don’t receive proper sex education at home or school, they learn about boundaries mostly from each other or from the streets. This sustains a culture in which harassment is excused or even encouraged. Often, the impact of behavior isn’t considered.
Impact on daily life
Street harassment limits people’s freedom — literally. It affects where you walk, what time you go somewhere, what you wear, and who you walk with. Sometimes you avoid certain neighborhoods or public transport. In the worst case, you miss school, skip work, or quit sports.
According to Plan International (2023), 83% of Dutch girls between 16 and 27 years old have experienced street harassment. 63% of them say it affects their freedom of movement.
What’s often underestimated is the effect of repeated “small” incidents. Even without physical violence, street harassment leaves mental traces — such as hypervigilance, anxiety, or avoidance of public spaces.
This is known as “accumulative trauma” or chronic microtrauma. It’s a form of somatic trauma, where the body remains constantly “on” due to repeated stress stimuli. Your body remembers what happened, even if your mind tries to push it away (The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk).
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