Unprotected in Public: Street Harassment and the Legal Control of Female Resistance

This Article traces the historical development of street harassment from its emergence in the Victorian era to its contemporary manifestations, situating it within broader social, legal, and gendered frameworks. It explores the cultural and structural forces that have enabled street harassment to persist over time, examining how it functions as both a method of gendered control and a reflection of public space dynamics. While street harassment has long been recognized by those who experience it as a form of violence and domination, the law has consistently failed to treat it as such. Instead, legal responses have often focused not on deterring perpetrators, but on scrutinizing and restricting the actions of women who resist or defend themselves against harassment.

This Article analyzes how women’s self-protective strategies—from verbal resistance to physical self-defense—have historically been met with disapproval or outright criminalization, revealing an asymmetrical approach to regulation that prioritizes public order over gender justice. By mapping this pattern across time, this Article argues that, despite changes in legal regimes and social norms, the underlying power dynamics that sustain street harassment remain largely intact. Without a fundamental shift in legal interpretation, cultural norms, and societal attitudes toward gender and public space, street harassment is likely to remain a persistent and under-regulated form of gender-based violence.