Petition for cat-calling to be added to sexual offences laws

The woman, who did not want to share her name, said she was walking to work through Market Street yesterday morning when she experienced a group of male scaffolders whistling at her and other women walking past, and making comments among themselves.

She said that there was another woman walking behind her, and two others dressed for school or sixth form walking past.

She said that the situation had made her feel uncomfortable, and she believed that this was what the men intended. But reaction to an online post, from both men and women, had made the situation even worse, she said.

‘While there has been lots of support, my story has been laughed at and made fun of in the comments, telling women to take it as a compliment, or to grow up and confront the men doing it,’ she said.

‘Some people have even said it's a shame this generation doesn’t take wolf-whistling as a compliment anymore. Reactions like this I think are why some women chose to not speak up. It would be nice to have the reassurance, if not for me then all the other young girls and women who are uncomfortable or feel unsafe, who either expect to experience something like this or worse, or already have.’

She added that one woman had commented, saying she was assaulted for trying to confront a man who had cat-called her, while others did not understand how the line blurred between street harassment and giving someone a genuine compliment.

The Committee for Home Affairs has announced plans to bring in new offences to address domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The charity SafetyNet set up the petition, calling for street harassment to be included among the new offences, in response to the woman’s online post.

‘The ideal outcome would be for cat-calling to be included as an offence in the harassment law,’ said its chairwoman Poppy Murray.

‘This is in place in some areas in the UK where it is included as an offence, so can we include this too.’

She agreed that the comments on social media had been upsetting some people.

‘Some people are blaming victims and witnesses for not stepping in, but that can be really difficult to do,’ she said.

‘Others are saying that it should be taken as a compliment, but it’s subjective. If you do take it as a compliment then you won’t need to make a report to the police, but for people who are offended, it’s really important, and particularly for school girls it can be distressing. These comments prove why this is needed.’

n The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/include-cat-calling-in-guernsey-s-new-street-harassment-law.