BY TIA HARALABAKOS 

A Victorian initiative It's Not A Compliment has formed an online platform where victims of street harassment can seek alternative justice pathways.

According to the organisation, street harassment is “any unwanted behaviour directed at someone by a stranger in a public space”.

“This can include acts such as unwanted comments, whistling, leering, sexual and racist remarks, persistent requests for someone’s name or personal information, general intimidation, threats, stalking, indecent exposure or public masturbation, along with more physical acts of violence, such as groping and sexual assault.”

It's Not A Compliment cofounder Annelise Lecordier is dedicated to addressing the commonality of street harassment in Victoria and forming community-based strategies to erase it.

“As a woman you can experience sexual harassment on so many different aspects of your identity which is a big issue, and we should be putting in place systems to address it,” Ms Lecordier said. 

“Street justice is really about changing the relationship to public spaces … to sort of bring back places that people can have free and equal access to.” 

According to Ms Lecordier, street harassment should be a separate offence, as sexual assault definitions do not accurately convey what street harassment is. 

“Having a legal definition is important...we want to see people using the definition to expand their understanding of street harassment,” she said. 

A key characteristic of street harassment is that it occurs in a public setting. 

According to Legal Aid Victoria, public life includes “at work, working as a volunteer, at school/university/TAFE, in shops, buying or selling goods and services, in clubs or activities that you participate in, such as sports”. 

Ms Lecordier said this definition of public life is limiting, because it does not include a lot of spaces. 

“When I think of public spaces I think of public transport, the streets, but that is not what is reflected in our legal system,” she said.

A survey conducted by It’s Not A Compliment found public spaces were hot spots for harassment, with 77 per cent of respondents having experienced harassment in public. 

The survey also found that victims are harassed mostly by other people in public spaces, closely followed by someone driving a car they are not in.

“Public spaces are not neutral spaces for a lot of people… they are very loaded spaces,” Ms Lecordier said.  

Melbourne University Researcher and board member of Its Not A Compliment Dr Bianca Fileborn understands that defining street harassment is difficult, as it includes a mosaic of behaviours. 

“A lot of things that constitute street harassment can also be really normal behaviours. We might look at other people, or even have a conversation with someone on the train,” she said. 

“Normal behaviours can also be harassing and problematic depending on how they are being executed,” Dr Fileborn said. 

“It is very context dependent.” 

The difficulty in defining what behaviours constitute street harassment has caused victims to pursue alternative justice routes. 

According to research conducted by Dr Fileborn, victims of street harassment often seek justice on informal online forums

“Online spaces can function as counter cultural public spheres that seek to disrupt and challenge dominant representations of sexual violence, as spaces where victims/survivor’s justice needs can be met,” the report states.

It’s Not A Compliment is one of these forums, using Instagram as a platform to share street harassment experiences under the hashtag #nospaceforharassment.

The page invites victims to anonymously share their exposure to street harassment in a candid format, creating a community built on shared experiences. 

“A big part of our work is creating a safe space where people can come to our page and find like-minded people,” Ms Lecordier said. 

To achieve justice, the team at It's Not A Compliment are focusing on community-based programs to change street culture. 

Most recently, its bystander intervention program seeks to educate society on how to call out and intervene when people see sexual harassment on the street. 

According to Dr Fileborn, prevention through community-centred education programs is more important than judicial punishment. 

“You can’t undo what’s been done… finding someone doesn’t necessarily mean they will understand why what they did was wrong, it does not necessarily change behaviours or attitudes,” she said. 

“Overwhelmingly, the emphasis should be on preventative work and education, both in schools and targeted towards the broader community.” 

Street harassment has become an even more pressing issue during the Coronavirus pandemic where public harassment has become increasingly racially motivated.

This new direction of street harassment will be the basis of future research conducted by It's Not A Compliment.