2004
Volume 98, Issue 4
  • ISSN: 0025-9454
  • E-ISSN: 1876-2816

Abstract

Abstract

Sexual harassment in the street is a form of microaggression that takes many different forms, including whistling, hissing, yelling, insulting, asking for sex, chasing, or cornering. Sexual street harassment is a social problem. A material risk of using the public realm is that some may abuse it (e.g., groping a stranger in a crowded room). A moral risk is that some people may have a mistaken sense that they have a right to make comments about people who are conspicuous in public spaces. This article examines the consequences of sexual street harassment for college students ( = 280; 84.4% female; age = 23). In this selective sample, female students were more likely to experience street harassment than male students. Victimization of street harassment was associated with lower psychological well-being, lower perceptions of safety, and more precautions to avoid harassment. Sexual street harassment may reduce the accessibility of public spaces for victims.

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