Understanding Street Harassment as Gendered Violence: Past, Present, and Future

Street harassment is a form of gendered violence that is a common experience for women around the world. This review article chronicles the early research on street harassment exploring terminology and definitions. It overviews research from North America that shows that street harassment exacts a heavy toll on women. When women share their experiences of street harassment, they are often dismissed or trivialized. A common argument is that street harassment is merely compliments, but such “compliments” unduly burden the recipient with a need to ignore or respond to such breaches in civil inattention. The research shows that street harassment increases anxiety and depression, self-objectification, and victim blaming. Finally, the review concludes with a discussion of transformative justice and why, in the era of #MeToo, it is imperative to continue research on street harassment with a focus on issues of intersectionality and social justice.