What are the punishments for catcalling? Police officers pose as runners to tackle harassment
Female police officers in Surrey have been jogging in plainclothes to catch out catcallers in part of a wider attempt to clamp down on violence against women.
The Jog On campaign from Surrey sees the officers, who have volunteered to run, contact support teams if they are victims of catcalling.
A support team will then try and talk to the perpetrators and advise them against such behaviour.
They said the tactic has been used in Reigate and Banstead but is now being rolled out elsewhere.
Inspector Jon Vale said their research shows catcalling is significantly underreported, with almost half of women not getting in touch with police when they were catcalled.
He said: "To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plainclothes runners. In these cases, it was deemed appropriate to provide education around anti-social behaviour.
'For repeat offenders or where the behaviour is more serious, we will robustly pursue all criminal justice outcomes."
Vale told LBC: 'One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes, then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later – that's how frequent it is."
PC Abi Hayward, who was one of the officers taking part in the trial, said she was a keen runner said she felt "diminished" and "uncomfortable" whenever she was catcalled.
She said: "It makes me feel uneasy, and then instantly it's just ruined my run."
What is catcalling?
Catcalling is the act of shouting something sexually suggestive to another person. It is usually done by a man directed at a woman.
It is a form of harassment, and more often than not, the people involved have never interacted before in their lives.
It can be extremely uncomfortable for someone to experience, especially when the catcaller is part of a wider group shouting at a woman on her own.
The phrase was first used to describe people who jeered and made disapproving sounds towards theatre performers in the 1600s, but over time, it took on more sexual connotations.
Is catcalling a crime?
There is no direct law that makes catcalling illegal, but someone who catcalls may be charged with harassment under certain circumstances.
In 2023, the government passed a bill that updated laws around harassment to include street harassment as a specific crime for the first time.
The specific crime of street harassment was created to encourage more people report when they think they've been a victim of the crime.
The new rules criminalised:
Deliberately walking closely behind someone as they walk home at night
Making obscene or aggressive comments towards a person
Making obscene or offensive gestures towards a person
Obstructing a person's path
Driving or riding a vehicle slowly near to a person making a journey
In the wake of the Sarah Everard murder, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also tightened its guidance on street harassment in 2022.
The CPS says in the specific instance of verbal harassment, rather than physical assault, people can be charged under two circumstances.
If the intention is to cause (and thereby causing) harassment, alarm, or distress to a specific victim by words or behaviour.
Or, a less serious incident of sexually threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour directed towards a stranger in public.
How widespread is the problem?
A study published by the University of Manchester in 2024 found that two-thirds of women have experienced harassment while running.
The survey, which focused on women in the north east of England, found just 5% of victims reported it to the police.
And 68% of the survey respondents said they had experienced some form of abusive behaviour.
The most common type was verbal abuse, with 58% of the women who responded reporting that they had experienced this. However, a substantial number of women also said they had been followed while out running (19%), flashed at (7%), or received other types of abuse from men in vehicles (13%).
And 82% of them said they were worried about their personal safety when running.
One of the women who took part in the survey told The Guardian that when she was on one run, she was followed by a group of "10-year-olds on bikes" who made extremely offensive sexual comments about her.
The woman, who only identified as Lucy, said: "What shocked me was that these children had learned this behaviour and thought it was totally OK to do this. It was daytime. At the time, I thought I was OK, but I stopped running shortly after … it made me feel pretty unsafe."
How many people have been arrested?
Surrey police said they had not arrested anyone specifically in relation to the Jog On campaign, as it was being implemented as a "preventative measure".
A spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: "We have used these interactions to educate individuals on how this behaviour can make a woman or girl feel and the consequences, in an effort to prevent future behaviour occurring."
They said they had made 18 arrests overall in their increased efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, incorporating other tactics such as the use of plain clothes officers to tackle harassment in nighttime economy venues such as pubs and clubs.
Exact figures on how many arrests specifically relating to street harassment are hard to come by.
But in a Freedom of Information request in 2023, Dorset Police said they had made 138 arrests relating to the changes to the CPS's advice on street harassment in a 12-month period.
Of these, 96 of the arrests related to "intentional Harassment, alarm or distress.
What are the punishments?
When the specific laws for street harassment were introduced, the punishments were increased from six months to two years' jail time.
Stylist reported in 2022 that a man was issued a £100 fine for catcalling in Ilford, believed to be the first time someone was punished in the UK specifically for the offence.
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a day ago
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A jogger in San Antonio, Tex., runs at dusk in this photo from July. Undercover female police officers in the U.K. have been posing as joggers for the last month, running in areas identified as high-risk.
Female runners are often told to run in groups, run with a dog, run in a well-lit area, run without earbuds, run with a whistle, run with tech, run varied routes, and — despite the fact all this advice might make them even more fearful — to also run assertively, standing tall and swinging their arms with purpose to not appear vulnerable. As experts have previously pointed out, there's a lot of onus on women to stay safe in public spaces. And that's likely part of why a new police campaign in the U.K., which is aimed at stopping people from harassing women runners in the first place, is getting so much attention. For the last month, undercover female police officers in Surrey, a county in southeastern England, have been posing as joggers in areas identified as high-risk. If they experience harassment, including cat-calling or sexually suggestive comments, a support team steps in. "The change I'd like to see is for people to recognize that it's not right. It's not just a small act. It's a thing that can make someone feel really quite uncomfortable," said Const. Abby Hayward, one of the officers who went undercover, in an Instagram video posted by Surrey Police. CBC News has contacted Surrey Police and has not heard back. But according to local news outlet LBC News, Surrey Police made 18 arrests in the last month in its operations, including the jogging patrols, to tackle violence against women and girls. "One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes," Surrey Insp. Jon Vale, who runs the operation, told LBC News on Wednesday. "Then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later. That's how frequent it is." The initiative has made headlines around the world and elicited strong reactions online. But amid a wave of both praise and criticism, with the U.K.'s Free Speech Union reportedly calling it a "bizarre social-psychology experiment," some experts say the campaign misses the point and raises new concerns. "I don't want to downplay how unpleasant or scary these moments can be, especially for joggers who just want to stay in the zone without dealing with obnoxious men," Ummni Khan, an associate law professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who researches gender, sexuality and the law, told CBC News. "But I worry about directing resources this way ... [and] reinforcing stereotypes of who is 'dangerous.'" Women frequently engage in 'safety work' on runs Running is arguably one of the most rewarding physical activities, with time spent outdoors, a sense of personal accomplishment and a supportive community cheering you to push just a little faster or tiny bit further. But for many women, the rewards are tempered by the potential risks. An empirical study published in May in the British Journal of Criminology, for instance, found "high levels of abuse" reported by female runners, ranging from verbal comments to being physically and sexually assaulted. "Although women rarely report incidents to the police, their frequent experiences lead to the normalization of abuse, high levels of fear and women runners engaging in significant 'safety work' in order to avoid such intrusions," wrote the authors. WATCH | Many women report they're afraid to run on trails: Another recent U.K. survey found that 70 per cent of women said they experienced an intimidating incident while jogging, such as being followed or honked at. An Adidas survey in 2023 found that 92 per cent of 4,500 women in nine countries reported feeling concerned for their safety when they go for a run. According to Statistics Canada data released in 2019, one in three women reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour in public. And survey data released by the Canadian Women's Foundation (CWF) last summer found that just 32 per cent of women said they felt safe walking or running on or in a recreational trail, park or forest, compared to 61 per cent of men. It's a fact that women are disproportionately affected by gendered violence, said Jean Ketterling, an assistant professor in the women's and gender studies program at the University of Saskatchewan, and a runner herself. While the Surrey Police campaign doesn't put the onus on women to prevent violence against themselves by changing their behaviour, Ketterling also doesn't think it's going to be particularly effective. That's in part because it doesn't address the deeper issues, she said. "It focuses on individual perpetrators, not the structural conditions that make such violence quotidian, especially in intimate and family relationships," Ketterling said. "While I agree that education is an important part of the solution, I want to see resources go to quality, comprehensive sexual health education done in classrooms by trained and well-resourced educators." The problem with 'catching' harassers Surrey Police explained in a news release that harassment is significantly under-reported. Insp. Jon Vale said they'd already made a "number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plainclothes runners." "The next time you see a female jogger, just think, they could be a police officer with colleagues nearby ready to stop you. Your behaviour is not welcome in Surrey," he said. And many people online have expressed enthusiasm for the campaign. "We need this! I've had two catcalls this week while out," wrote a commenter on a recent Instagram post from Canadian Running Magazine.. "Police everywhere: make this a widespread practice, please. So much violent stranger crime against women originates in men following and harassing women in the wild," wrote Elle Kamihira, a women's rights podcast producer, on X. WATCH | Victoria's Queer running club aims to race past exclusion: Khan, with Carleton University, said catcalling or street interactions can be experienced as deeply invasive, frightening and unwelcome. But she has concerns about the approach of using undercover police to "catch harassers," explaining that these kinds of interventions risk disproportionately targeting lower-income and racialized men, as well as reinforcing "stranger danger" narratives. Plus, some people may come from places or contexts where greeting one another in public is considered friendly, she added, and women might interpret encounters in a variety of ways based on race, class, identity and past experiences. "A 'good morning,' a compliment, solicitation for a date and even a hateful epithet all get lumped into a single category of harassment," Khan said. "It's reductionist, to say the least."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
What are the punishments for catcalling? Police officers pose as runners to tackle harassment
Surrey police said one of their plainclothes officers was catcalled within 10 minutes of starting their run. Female police officers in Surrey have been jogging in plainclothes to catch out catcallers in part of a wider attempt to clamp down on violence against women. The Jog On campaign from Surrey sees the officers, who have volunteered to run, contact support teams if they are victims of catcalling. A support team will then try and talk to the perpetrators and advise them against such behaviour. They said the tactic has been used in Reigate and Banstead but is now being rolled out elsewhere. Inspector Jon Vale said their research shows catcalling is significantly underreported, with almost half of women not getting in touch with police when they were catcalled. He said: "To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plainclothes runners. In these cases, it was deemed appropriate to provide education around anti-social behaviour. 'For repeat offenders or where the behaviour is more serious, we will robustly pursue all criminal justice outcomes." Vale told LBC: 'One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes, then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later – that's how frequent it is." PC Abi Hayward, who was one of the officers taking part in the trial, said she was a keen runner said she felt "diminished" and "uncomfortable" whenever she was catcalled. She said: "It makes me feel uneasy, and then instantly it's just ruined my run." What is catcalling? Catcalling is the act of shouting something sexually suggestive to another person. It is usually done by a man directed at a woman. It is a form of harassment, and more often than not, the people involved have never interacted before in their lives. It can be extremely uncomfortable for someone to experience, especially when the catcaller is part of a wider group shouting at a woman on her own. The phrase was first used to describe people who jeered and made disapproving sounds towards theatre performers in the 1600s, but over time, it took on more sexual connotations. Is catcalling a crime? There is no direct law that makes catcalling illegal, but someone who catcalls may be charged with harassment under certain circumstances. In 2023, the government passed a bill that updated laws around harassment to include street harassment as a specific crime for the first time. The specific crime of street harassment was created to encourage more people report when they think they've been a victim of the crime. The new rules criminalised: Deliberately walking closely behind someone as they walk home at night Making obscene or aggressive comments towards a person Making obscene or offensive gestures towards a person Obstructing a person's path Driving or riding a vehicle slowly near to a person making a journey In the wake of the Sarah Everard murder, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) also tightened its guidance on street harassment in 2022. The CPS says in the specific instance of verbal harassment, rather than physical assault, people can be charged under two circumstances. If the intention is to cause (and thereby causing) harassment, alarm, or distress to a specific victim by words or behaviour. Or, a less serious incident of sexually threatening or abusive words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour directed towards a stranger in public. How widespread is the problem? A study published by the University of Manchester in 2024 found that two-thirds of women have experienced harassment while running. The survey, which focused on women in the north east of England, found just 5% of victims reported it to the police. And 68% of the survey respondents said they had experienced some form of abusive behaviour. The most common type was verbal abuse, with 58% of the women who responded reporting that they had experienced this. However, a substantial number of women also said they had been followed while out running (19%), flashed at (7%), or received other types of abuse from men in vehicles (13%). And 82% of them said they were worried about their personal safety when running. One of the women who took part in the survey told The Guardian that when she was on one run, she was followed by a group of "10-year-olds on bikes" who made extremely offensive sexual comments about her. The woman, who only identified as Lucy, said: "What shocked me was that these children had learned this behaviour and thought it was totally OK to do this. It was daytime. At the time, I thought I was OK, but I stopped running shortly after … it made me feel pretty unsafe." How many people have been arrested? Surrey police said they had not arrested anyone specifically in relation to the Jog On campaign, as it was being implemented as a "preventative measure". A spokesperson told Yahoo News UK: "We have used these interactions to educate individuals on how this behaviour can make a woman or girl feel and the consequences, in an effort to prevent future behaviour occurring." They said they had made 18 arrests overall in their increased efforts to tackle violence against women and girls, incorporating other tactics such as the use of plain clothes officers to tackle harassment in nighttime economy venues such as pubs and clubs. Exact figures on how many arrests specifically relating to street harassment are hard to come by. But in a Freedom of Information request in 2023, Dorset Police said they had made 138 arrests relating to the changes to the CPS's advice on street harassment in a 12-month period. Of these, 96 of the arrests related to "intentional Harassment, alarm or distress. What are the punishments? When the specific laws for street harassment were introduced, the punishments were increased from six months to two years' jail time. Stylist reported in 2022 that a man was issued a £100 fine for catcalling in Ilford, believed to be the first time someone was punished in the UK specifically for the offence.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
A jogger in San Antonio, Tex., runs at dusk in this photo from July. Undercover female police officers in the U.K. have been posing as joggers for the last month, running in areas identified as high-risk.
Female runners are often told to run in groups, run with a dog, run in a well-lit area, run without earbuds, run with a whistle, run with tech, run varied routes, and — despite the fact all this advice might make them even more fearful — to also run assertively, standing tall and swinging their arms with purpose to not appear vulnerable. As experts have previously pointed out, there's a lot of onus on women to stay safe in public spaces. And that's likely part of why a new police campaign in the U.K., which is aimed at stopping people from harassing women runners in the first place, is getting so much attention. For the last month, undercover female police officers in Surrey, a county in southeastern England, have been posing as joggers in areas identified as high-risk. If they experience harassment, including cat-calling or sexually suggestive comments, a support team steps in. "The change I'd like to see is for people to recognize that it's not right. It's not just a small act. It's a thing that can make someone feel really quite uncomfortable," said Const. Abby Hayward, one of the officers who went undercover, in an Instagram video posted by Surrey Police. CBC News has contacted Surrey Police and has not heard back. But according to local news outlet LBC News, Surrey Police made 18 arrests in the last month in its operations, including the jogging patrols, to tackle violence against women and girls. "One of our officers was honked at within 10 minutes," Surrey Insp. Jon Vale, who runs the operation, told LBC News on Wednesday. "Then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later. That's how frequent it is." The initiative has made headlines around the world and elicited strong reactions online. But amid a wave of both praise and criticism, with the U.K.'s Free Speech Union reportedly calling it a "bizarre social-psychology experiment," some experts say the campaign misses the point and raises new concerns. "I don't want to downplay how unpleasant or scary these moments can be, especially for joggers who just want to stay in the zone without dealing with obnoxious men," Ummni Khan, an associate law professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who researches gender, sexuality and the law, told CBC News. "But I worry about directing resources this way ... [and] reinforcing stereotypes of who is 'dangerous.'" Women frequently engage in 'safety work' on runs Running is arguably one of the most rewarding physical activities, with time spent outdoors, a sense of personal accomplishment and a supportive community cheering you to push just a little faster or tiny bit further. But for many women, the rewards are tempered by the potential risks. An empirical study published in May in the British Journal of Criminology, for instance, found "high levels of abuse" reported by female runners, ranging from verbal comments to being physically and sexually assaulted. "Although women rarely report incidents to the police, their frequent experiences lead to the normalization of abuse, high levels of fear and women runners engaging in significant 'safety work' in order to avoid such intrusions," wrote the authors. WATCH | Many women report they're afraid to run on trails: Another recent U.K. survey found that 70 per cent of women said they experienced an intimidating incident while jogging, such as being followed or honked at. An Adidas survey in 2023 found that 92 per cent of 4,500 women in nine countries reported feeling concerned for their safety when they go for a run. According to Statistics Canada data released in 2019, one in three women reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour in public. And survey data released by the Canadian Women's Foundation (CWF) last summer found that just 32 per cent of women said they felt safe walking or running on or in a recreational trail, park or forest, compared to 61 per cent of men. It's a fact that women are disproportionately affected by gendered violence, said Jean Ketterling, an assistant professor in the women's and gender studies program at the University of Saskatchewan, and a runner herself. While the Surrey Police campaign doesn't put the onus on women to prevent violence against themselves by changing their behaviour, Ketterling also doesn't think it's going to be particularly effective. That's in part because it doesn't address the deeper issues, she said. "It focuses on individual perpetrators, not the structural conditions that make such violence quotidian, especially in intimate and family relationships," Ketterling said. "While I agree that education is an important part of the solution, I want to see resources go to quality, comprehensive sexual health education done in classrooms by trained and well-resourced educators." The problem with 'catching' harassers Surrey Police explained in a news release that harassment is significantly under-reported. Insp. Jon Vale said they'd already made a "number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plainclothes runners." "The next time you see a female jogger, just think, they could be a police officer with colleagues nearby ready to stop you. Your behaviour is not welcome in Surrey," he said. And many people online have expressed enthusiasm for the campaign. "We need this! I've had two catcalls this week while out," wrote a commenter on a recent Instagram post from Canadian Running Magazine.. "Police everywhere: make this a widespread practice, please. So much violent stranger crime against women originates in men following and harassing women in the wild," wrote Elle Kamihira, a women's rights podcast producer, on X. WATCH | Victoria's Queer running club aims to race past exclusion: Khan, with Carleton University, said catcalling or street interactions can be experienced as deeply invasive, frightening and unwelcome. But she has concerns about the approach of using undercover police to "catch harassers," explaining that these kinds of interventions risk disproportionately targeting lower-income and racialized men, as well as reinforcing "stranger danger" narratives. Plus, some people may come from places or contexts where greeting one another in public is considered friendly, she added, and women might interpret encounters in a variety of ways based on race, class, identity and past experiences. "A 'good morning,' a compliment, solicitation for a date and even a hateful epithet all get lumped into a single category of harassment," Khan said. "It's reductionist, to say the least."
