Violence against women and girls

Through Her Eyes

Women and girls experience harassment every day from boys and men. 

Staring, unwelcome comments, and jokes of a sexual nature are harassment. These seemingly small acts can grow into violence and abuse.

Women and girls should be able to walk our streets without fear or intimidation. It is not for them to adapt their behaviour to avoid unwanted attention from men or to feel safe.

That’s why our campaign ‘Through Her Eyes’ speaks directly to men and boys.

If it’s not called out, sexual harassment can escalate into violence against women and girls. This abuse is often seen as part of normal life. We want men and boys to make it right by challenging their own attitudes and behaviour, and that of others.

Types of harassment include:

• staring, leering or suggestive looks
• sexual comments or noises like catcalling or wolf-whistling
• jokes of a sexual nature
• stalking
• unwanted physical contact like touching or standing too close to someone

How you can help

Be ready with phrases or questions

It can be difficult to know how to call out sexist jokes or comments. Non-judgemental questions can be a good way to open up the conversation, like 'why do you think that?' or 'what is funny about that?’ Or you could choose to say something simple like 'that's not OK' or 'that wasn't funny'.

Take your friend aside

Find a way to call out harmful behaviour outside of a group. This avoids putting the other person on the spot, and your conversation will likely be more open and trusting.

Walk away

Sometimes it's not safe to challenge inappropriate behaviour. Always put your own safety first. Don’t feel pressure to join in. 

You don’t have to engage and can walk away. This sends a signal that you’re not comfortable with the situation.

Spread the word about Through Her Eyes

Share the Through Her Eyes video with friends, at school or work. Start a conversation about how you talk about and treat women and girls. 

Your actions can help teach other boys and men to stand up to sexual harassment when they see it.

What to do if you experience sexual harassment

If you feel unsafe, move to a place of safety. This could be a coffee shop, bar or shop. Anywhere there are people around.

Although you don’t have to report the crime to the police if you don’t want to, they will take reports of sexual harassment seriously.

How to report sexual harassment:

• If it is happening right now, and it's an emergency, call the police on 999
• You can report the incident to your local police force or call 101
• Report the incident to the police online
• Contact Crimestoppers

Crimestoppers

If you have information about harassment happening in public, call 0800 555111 or fill in the online form to report harassment through Crimestoppers. 

You can remain anonymous.

Victim support services

If you’ve been a victim of sexual harassment, remember it is never your fault - no matter what the circumstances are.

• You can contact Victim Support to discuss options and be supported
• You can learn more about the options available to children and young people or call 0808 1689 111
• You can also find support with organisations listed on Southwark's other Violence against women and girls pages

Support if you are worried about your own behaviour

Respect

Respect work with perpetrators, male victims, and young people using violence in their close relationships. 

They can be contacted through their web page or on 0808 8024040.

Women and girls’ safety survey

We’d like to hear the experiences of women and girls in Southwark to understand how safe you feel living, working and travelling in our borough.

Visit our Women and girls’ safety survey page to find out more.