Latest news with #catcalling
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Telegraph
Policing catcalls doesn't make women safer
Undercover jogger – no, not the name of a character in Liam Neeson's new The Naked Gun, but an actual police role announced earlier this week. Female officers in Surrey went out for a run aiming to ensnare cat callers from their vehicles and give them a good telling off. The pilot scheme has allegedly resulted in 18 arrests for harassment, sexual assault and theft. Catcalling may be unpleasant, but it's not illegal. Of all the serious issues facing women that the police have hitherto failed to get to grips with – from shoddy rape reporting to the infamous failures relating to grooming gangs – catching catcallers is hardly high up on our list. I can't believe I'm about to defend the right to catcall, but this all feels a bit like police overreach. Inspector Jon Vale, Surrey's violence against women and girls safer spaces lead, said that officers had 'made a number of interventions' in which 'it was deemed appropriate to provide education around antisocial behaviour'. Do women really need police officers to lecture men in defence of our honour? The argument in favour of doing something about catcalling is that it's the beginning of a slippery slope. 'We have to ask: 'Is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender?'' Vale told LBC. Funny that police officers in the Met never asked those questions about some of their own – such as Wayne Couzens. But the idea that there's a clear and distinct line between wolf-whistling and rape is just nonsense, as if men simply slip from loutishness to extreme violence and all it takes is a few undercover officers to set them on the straight and narrow. The argument against is a little trickier to make, as women who aren't that bothered by catcalling are often told they are simply cursed with internalised misogyny. But like all human sexual behaviour, catcalling has its grey areas. There is not much to be said for a man who thinks it's okay to shout at a strange woman on her run, but if the context was switched to a boozy high street on a Friday night, both parties might feel differently about the interaction. To suggest that all unsolicited male attention is always bad is to pretend that men and women don't sometimes indeed behave badly and – whisper it – enjoy it. But the better argument in favour of telling the police to leave us alone is that playing the knight in shining armour for women does more harm than good. When sexist men behave like pigs, they are not doing it in the hope of a date – no one could be that stupid. What they are doing is asserting their power and dominance over what they believe to be an afraid woman. This means that the only way to really fight back is for women to refuse to be painted as constantly in fear. The undercover jogger approach is safetyism writ large – the idea that women need someone watching over their shoulder in order to go about their daily lives. This not only infantilises us, it also cements the very sexist notion that these men tend to have: that we are damsels in distress. What would a better approach be for joggers? Carrying a brick along with your electrolytes? It would make for a better workout if nothing else. More bobbies on the beat would be no bad thing, but this kind of stunt is just a way for Surrey police to grab a few nice headlines. The most common crime affecting women, joggers, and indeed anyone at the moment, is theft. Getting a handle on that would make women's lives a hell of a lot better – not least because we like to text and run. But the job of fighting for women's freedom cannot be done by the authorities on our behalf. It's time to get out the steel-toe-capped Nikes, girls.
Yahoo
5 days 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.
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Surrey Police crack down on jogging harassment and catcalling
A female police officer who volunteered to run in plain clothes to catch catcallers has said their behaviour "makes me feel really sort of icky".PC Abby Hayward, who works for Surrey Police, said she was honked at twice during a 5km (3-mile) undercover force's Jog On campaign sees female police officers running in targeted locations, with uniformed officers on hand nearby to deal with perpetrators who catcall or shout sexually suggestive Hayward said: "When I'm on my own, I don't have the backup. It just ruins my whole run." She added: "As a young female, when I'm going out, mainly on a jog, it's the staring, the leaning out of the window."Other officers involved in the scheme said it is an issue that affects them outside of campaign also comes after a Surrey County Council survey found that while 94% of female residents asked said they had experienced a form of harassment, nearly half said they had never reported it. 'It's not funny' The BBC spent time with Surrey Police during the Jog On campaign in July, and within 20 minutes, the runners had already experienced Hayward said that, after getting honked and laughed at by a lorry driver within about 18 minutes and stopping to speak to him, the officers were then harassed again just 15 seconds after restarting their run. She said: "It's not funny. I can't really put it into words, other than it just makes me feel horrible."It shows how prevalent it is and how worthwhile this operation is."The two people who harassed the runners were educated on street-based harassment and moved on.A Surrey Police spokesperson said no arrests have specifically been made as a result of the initiative, but that drivers had been stopped to be educated about their behaviour. Jog On is part of a wider commitment to tackle public space violence against women and girls (VAWG) and uses the same tactics that are in place to deal with predatory behaviour in bars, clubs and town Vale, Borough Commander at Surrey Police, said: "It's a big information gap at the moment. We know having spoken to staff that this is an issue for us locally. We know that it's a significantly under-reported issue nationally as well."So part of it for me is getting a much better understanding of this crime type as we move forward. "It is about engaging with the public and asking them to report their concerns to us, whether that be directly to us, on our website or whether it be via reporting tools such as Street Safe."
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
'Is prowling for catcallers really the best use of police time?' Fury as undercover cops pose as joggers to catch wolf-whistlers
Police chiefs have sparked fury after undercover officers posed as joggers to catch men catcalling women - with campaigners branding it a 'nightmarish' clampdown on free speech. Activists have argued police should be using their resources to tackle criminal activity such as knife crime and theft - not 'prowling the streets in search of lawful but disapproved remarks'. It comes after Surrey Police sent two officers out running at rush hour to show the scale of harassment that women are facing. A spokesman for the force said of the patrols: 'These behaviours may not be criminal offences in themselves, but they need to be addressed.' Condemning the crackdown, The Free Speech Union said: 'Britain is in the grip of a surge in serious crime. In the year to March 2025, shoplifting rose 20 per cent, theft from the person climbed 15 per cent , and robberies topped 78,000. 'And Surrey Police's answer? "Jog On": a county-wide sting in which female officers, dressed as joggers, run through public spaces trailed by squad cars, ready to swoop on anyone who cat-calls, wolf-whistles or makes sexually suggestive comments. 'Perhaps Surrey Police should take their own advice and "just think" about whether prowling the streets in search of lawful but disapproved remarks is really the best use of police time in a county, and a country, grappling with so many actual crimes.' The union compared the campaign to Philip K. Dick's 1956 novella The Minority Report, which imagined a 'pre-crime' police unit hunting those who it believed would commit a crime. 'Across the country, Dick's nightmarish logic is fast becoming a technocratic rationale driving the authorities to clamp down on freedom of expression,' the union said. The Free Speech Union condemned Surrey Police's crackdown on catcalling The Boxing Saves Lives organisation also hit back at the campaign, suggesting police have better things to do Surrey Police sent the joggers out under the belief that acts such as catcalling could 'lead on to other behaviours'. But the Boxing Saves Lives organisation hit back at the claims, arguing that 'performative boll**** like this makes [women] think [police] have their finger on the pulse'. 'Have they got nothing better to do than to go finding new and inventive ways to be oppressed?', they wrote. 'This is not to say catcalling men aren't the absolute worst toss*** ever, but you'd be pretty pissed off if they told you they didn't have resources to attend a burglary, but had coppers free to jog round the streets to fight crimes they've prioritised to show how righteous they are. 'Women and girls will be failed all the time by the police, but performative boll**** like this makes them think they have their finger on the pulse.' Free speech activists argued police should instead be focusing on enforcing existing laws. A Surrey Police spokesperson said: 'Our priority is not only to tackle and solve crime but also to prevent it from happening in the first place.' Reporters from the news outlet LBC joined officers on patrol during the evening rush hour in Reigate, Surrey. During the operation, plain clothes police officers, who were dressed in athletic jogging gear, headed to areas identified as 'harassment hotspots'. Meanwhile, specialist units waited nearby to intervene at the first sign of abuse. According to LBC, the two female undercover cops were 'targeted within minutes' by a man in a large truck who 'honked at them and made gestures out the window'. Inspector John Vale said: 'One of our officers was honked at within ten minutes — then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later - that's how frequent it is. 'Someone slowing down, staring, shouting - even if it's not always criminal - it can have a huge impact on people's everyday lives and stops women from doing something as simple as going for a run. 'We have to ask: is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender? We want to manage that risk early.' PC Abby Hayward, one of the police officers who posed as a jogger, said that catcalling is something many women are subjected to every day. She said that the behaviour was 'so common' and that it needed to be addressed. Surrey Police said that since they launched the 'Jog On' campaign four weeks ago, 18 arrests have been made for various offences including sexual assault and theft. Inspector Vale added: 'We know that this kind of harassment is significantly under reported thanks to a study carried out by Surrey County Council this year, which revealed that of 450 female residents surveyed, 49 per cent never reported. 'To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plain clothes 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. 'We recognise this is a significant worry for women and girls, and we'll continue to patrol running routes throughout Redhill.' He continued: 'This type of harassment isn't just being experienced by communities in Reigate and Banstead, but communities across the whole of Surrey, and it's unacceptable. 'We have female officers and staff members who have been the subject to such behaviour when off duty. 'The message I would like to impart to perpetrators is this; your actions will not be tolerated. 'Please reflect and ask yourself 'is this how you would treat or want your partner, mother, sister to be treated?' '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.'
The Independent
13-08-2025
- The Independent
Undercover female police pose as joggers to catch catcallers
Undercover police are posing as joggers in a bid to crack down on street harassment and catcalling. Surrey Police are sending female officers clad in civilian jogging gear on runs in 'key locations' around the county as part of new tactics designed to tackle harassment against runners. The force said they recognised the issue was a 'significant worry' for women and girls in the area, labelling it as 'unacceptable'. The campaign has seen support crews accompany female officers who have volunteered to take part from a distance, ready to swoop in if the officers experience catcalling or harassment. The unit said they had made a 'number of interventions' following harassment of undercover officers, which had resulted in 'education around anti-social behaviour'. But the Jog On campaign has attracted criticism from civil liberties group Free Speech Union, which accused the force of 'bizarre social-psychology experiments' and said they should focus on 'enforcing the law'. A Surrey Police spokesperson told The Independent: 'Our priority is not only to tackle and solve crime but also to prevent it from happening in the first place.' Reigate and Banstead Commander Inspector Jon Vale said: 'We know that this kind of harassment is significantly under-reported thanks to a study carried out by Surrey County Council this year, which revealed that of 450 female residents surveyed, 49 per cent never reported. 'To date, we have made a number of interventions following reports of harassment of our plain-clothes 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. We recognise this is a significant worry for women and girls, and we'll continue to patrol running routes throughout Redhill.' PC Abi Hayward is one officer who volunteered to take part. Speaking in a video on the force's Facebook page, she said she hopes the strategy will help people realise street harassment 'isn't right'. 'It's not just a small act,' she added. 'It's a thing that can make someone feel really quite uncomfortable. I think it's important that Surrey Police are taking it so seriously.' The unusual tactics were first used in Reigate and Banstead and are now being rolled out in different places across the county. Police said the campaign had been inspired by their work in the night-time economy, with undercover cops also used to identify predatory behaviour in bars, clubs and town centres. 'This type of harassment isn't just being experienced by communities in Reigate and Banstead, but communities across the whole of Surrey, and it's unacceptable,' Inspector Vale said. 'We have female officers and staff members who have been the subject of such behaviour when off-duty. The message I would like to impart to perpetrators is this: your actions will not be tolerated. Please reflect and ask yourself, 'Is this how you would treat or want your partner, mother, sister to be treated?' '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.'
