Street Harassment

Street harassment is an umbrella term that encompasses numerous behaviors. In its simplest form, it describes unwanted or unwelcome attention in public. However, depending on context (e.g., policy, scholarship, advocacy domains), definitions for the construct—and the diversity of the term’s applications—vary. This entry describes some of the ways in which street harassment is defined, historical and contemporary activist approaches to preventing the problem, research on street harassment (and some of the challenges faced when [Page 1637]researching the topic), and policy responses to the problem. This entry concludes with current prevention efforts to address the pervasive problem of street harassment.