Petition · past parliament · Ministry of Justice
Criminalise Public Sexual Harassment with Fines
Closed
489 signatures
What the petition asks
Criminalise sexist insults, degrading/humiliating comments, or hostile and offensive “sexual or sexist” behaviour towards a person in public areas, schools or workplaces. The police need power to hand out instant fines. Sexual harassment has become wrongly normalised and accepted as inevitable.
Street harassment is a significant part of the lives of most women, including transwomen and gender-diverse individuals, but anyone can be vulnerable. According to a 2017 CNN report, in the UK 64% of all women have been sexually harassed, but even more have simply never reported their experiences. There wasn't much point. Similar measures have already been successfully implemented, most notably in France, Belgium and Portugal. This indicates that these measures can be genuinely effective.
Timeline
| 27 Aug 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 27 Feb 2021 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
489
Status
Closed
Department
Ministry of Justice
Opened
27 Aug 2020
Closed
27 Feb 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.