It prevents equality.
No country has achieved gender equality, nor have they reached equality for members of the LGBTIQA
community. Street harassment is a symptom of that inequality, and it keeps harassed persons from fully
participating and thriving in the world. If we want to see equality for every person, we must work to end
street harassment.

Why a national study?
To stop street harassment, we first must change the all-too-common social attitude that it’s not a big deal
or that it’s simply a compliment. Changing social attitudes takes time, and data can help. While there have
been other studies conducted in the United States (see Appendix C), this is the first comprehensive
national study to look at the experiences of both women and men and the intersection of race, sexual
orientation, and income. It also has the largest sample size to date

Key Findings.*1
1. Street harassment is a significant problem in the United States.
Sixty-five percent of women reported experiencing at least one type of street harassment in their
lifetimes. More than half (57%) of all women had experienced verbal harassment, and 41% of all
women had experienced physically aggressive forms, including sexual touching (23%), following
(20%), flashing (14%), and being forced to do something sexual (9%). For men, 25% experienced
street harassment, too, including 18% who experienced verbal harassment and 16% who
experienced physically aggressive forms. More men who identified as LGBT experienced
harassment than men who identified as heterosexual.
In many ways, persons of color, lower-income people, and persons who identify as lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender were disproportionately affected by street harassment overall, as
detailed in the main body of the report.

2. Street harassment happens multiple times to most people.
Eighty-six percent of women and 79% of men who reported being harassed said they had been
harassed more than once. Women were more likely than men to say it happened sometimes,
often, or daily.

3. Street harassment begins at a young age.
Around 50% of harassed women and men experienced street harassment by age 17.

4. Most harassed people were at least somewhat concerned that the incident would
escalate.
Two-thirds of the harassed women (68%) and half of the harassed men (49%) said they were
very or somewhat concerned that the incident would escalate into something worse. Nearly twice
as many women (25%) as men (13%) said they were very concerned.

5. Most harassed persons change their lives in some way as a result of the
experience.
The most common change was for harassed people to constantly assess their surroundings as a
result of harassment (47% of women and 32% of men). Going places in a group or with another
person instead of alone was another common response for women (31%). On the more extreme
end, 4% of all harassed persons said they made a big life decision like quitting a job or moving
neighborhoods because of harassers.

6. Street harassment doesn’t just happen on the streets.
Streets and sidewalks are the public spaces where street harassment most commonly occurs
(67% of women and 43% of men reported harassment there), but harassment also happened in
public spaces such as stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls (26% of women and 28% of
men). It also happened on public transportation (20% of women and 16% of men).

7. Men are overwhelmingly the harassers of both women and men.
Being harassed by one man was cited as the most common experience by both women (70%)
and men (48%). It was also common to be harassed by two or more men (38% of women and
25% of men). Twenty percent of men said their harasser was a lone woman.

8. When experiencing or witnessing harassment, half of the respondents had a
proactive response at least once.
Around half (53%) of all survey respondents said that at least once they had done something
proactive about harassment they experienced or witnessed. The most common response was to
tell a harasser to stop or back off (31% of women and 25% of men).

9. Most people believe there are actions we can take to stop street harassment.
Among all respondents, 91% believed there are ways to stop street harassment. Most
recommended more security cameras and increased police presence in communities (55%) or
educational workshops in schools and communities about respectful ways to interact with
strangers and information about street harassment (53%) as ways to curb street harassment.
More training of law enforcement and transit workers, community safety audits, and awareness
campaigns were also suggested.
Street harassment affects millions of people, especially women, in significant ways. This report is a call to
action for everyone, including educators, businesses, community leaders, national leaders, activist
groups, journalists, and individuals, to do something about it. Together, we can work to end street
harassment.

*1 The percentages in numbers two through seven represent the share of individuals who reported having
experienced some street harassment. As such, the percentages for men and women may be similar but a
larger number of women are affected because more women than men experience street harassment.
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When you are born, you cry, and the world rejoices. Live so that when you die, you rejoice, and the world cries.
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You cannot hate people for their own good.