Street harassment and online abuse: the most common forms of normalized gender violence continuing unnoticed during the pandemic

Street and online harassment are such widespread and normalized forms of gender and age-related violence that the majority of young girls and women end up becoming resigned to it as a part of life they feel they have to put up with. Only 10% of girls harassed on the street report it to the authorities, while one in three (35%) of those affected by online abuse on social media say they have reported such incidents, although in the majority of cases, no relevant measures were taken.

To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Plan International is working to raise awareness about sexual harassment in public spaces as the most common form of violence to which girls and young women are subjected and which, despite the pandemic, continues unabated on city streets, in parks, on public transport, as well as online. The implementation of measures to restrict mobility due to the health crisis may even act to make young women feel more vulnerable or put them in a worse position, with fewer pedestrians on the streets to deter aggressors or come to their aid.

Incidents of age- and gender-related harassment, abuse and violence are regular occurrences in all spaces, both physical and online, prompting women to feel unsafe, limit their own mobility and participate less, and causing subsequent negative repercussions in relation to personal development.

• According to the report, '(Un)safe Online', almost half the world's adolescent girls and young women (42%) experience a loss of self-esteem or self-confidence or suffer mental or emotional stress after being victims of bullying on social media. 
• The study '(Un)safe in the City' reports that 40% of girls avoid returning alone to a spot where they have previously been harassed in the street, with some never going back to that place and others even giving up their studies or leaving their jobs as a result of the experience.

Getting involved in Safer Cities for Girls

As a result of these findings, the organization is encouraging girls between the ages of 15 and 25 to share their experiences on the Safer Cities for Girls platform, a website that will be active until January 2021, set up to collect data on street harassment in three major cities in Spain: Madrid, Barcelona and Seville. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to gather reliable information so that the institutions and young women themselves can work together to identify and address this problem.

In a process that takes just a few minutes, girls living in the three cities can mark a site on a map of their city and comment on whether they view it as safe or unsafe, giving details about their own experiences and the reasons they wish to highlight that specific place. They can also indicate whether or not they received any help and list the characteristics that they feel serve to make spaces more inclusive and accessible. Together with the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya's GAME research group, the NGO will use the data collected via the website to produce a report and guide containing recommendations on staying safe in the city; a document that they will then share with other cities in Spain and Belgium, as well as with the European Union.

As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign, Plan International is advocating for the safety of girls and young women in all spaces as a basic human right and for their voices to be heard and experiences considered when it comes to decision-making and the design of measures developed to stamp out harassment.

This research promotes Sustainable Development Goal (SDG):  5 – Gender equality.

About Plan International

Plan International is an independent organization committed to defending children's rights and fighting to attain equality for girls. It is working to create a world where girls can learn, lead, make their own decisions and prosper. Plan International was founded in Spain in 1937. Over the course of its now eighty-three years in operation, it has forged unwavering alliances to fight on behalf of boys and girls to ensure their rights from birth to adulthood.

It is currently present in seventy-six countries and has implemented programmes in over fifty developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. It has also been a consultative member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1981. Its accounts are audited by PwC and its compliance with the principles of transparency and good governance are accredited by the Lealtad Foundation.

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The UOC's research and innovation (R&I) are helping 21st-century global societies to overcome pressing challenges by studying the interactions between ICT and human activity, with a specific focus on e-learning and e-health. Over 400 researchers and 50 research groups work among the University's seven faculties and two research centres: the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) and the eHealth Center (eHC).

The United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and open knowledge serve as strategic pillars for the UOC's teaching, research and innovation. More information:research.uoc.edu. #UOC25years