Street harassment is a serious problem in the Netherlands. A study by Pointer shows, for example, that 11,000 Dutch women feel unsafe in more than 13,000 locations. Their stories show the enormous impact of street harassment: women avoid certain places, share their location with friends, or even arm themselves. With an issue that affects so many people, it is crucial to make sure that the conversation about it doesn’t get twisted. Yet we see that some media, consciously or unconsciously, use concerns about street harassment to paint a racist picture of those who commit it. This does not solve the problem but instead deepens inequality. In this blog, we discuss examples of this negative framing and explain why it is misleading.
Want to know more about the definition of street harassment? Read about it here
In recent weeks, street harassment has rightly received a lot of attention. Unfortunately, that coverage often goes hand in hand with racist stereotypes. Take, for example, the segment in which Telegraaf journalist Wierd Duk and writer Lale Gül, without evidence, directly link ethnicity to the people who commit street harassment. These unfounded statements are concerning and have a huge impact on the people they target. Want to know why this framing is wrong? Keep reading. Below we debunk some of the most common racist stereotypes about street harassment.
Want to know what racism is? Read more here
‘Street harassment mainly comes from men of a specific background (and white men do this less often)’
We see this idea echoed in newspaper headlines and TV segments, but also in everyday conversations: at the office coffee machine, or even in your friend group. Yet this image is incorrect. Research shows there is no link between ethnicity and the perpetration of sexual street harassment (see sources at the end of this article).
According to researchers at Sociale Vraagstukken, there is only one overlapping characteristic among those who commit street harassment: they are almost always men. ‘And these men come from all the layers of society and have different backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities.’
In short: no, ethnicity is not a predictor of who commits street harassment. And white men also commit sexual harassment. Lale and Wierd should know this: their Telegraaf-colleague, Mick van Wely, was dismissed last month, after earlier suspensions, for sexual harassment.
‘Street harassment is caused by cultural differences’
Once again: street harassment is mainly committed by men, and those men come from all parts of society. So no, street harassment does not stem from cultural differences. It is more closely linked to traditional gender norms, as noted by NJI. And those norms are found across all cultures.
As Fairspace colleague Simone wrote: ‘In the Netherlands too, we grow up in a culture where men and women are not equal. This is where white supremacy emerges, because street harassment is framed as a problem of ‘other’ cultures.’ By attributing street harassment primarily to ‘other cultures’, the responsibility of white Dutch people is denied. That is an expression of white supremacy: the idea that white people (and their culture) stand above ‘others’, while traditional gender norms are a problem among white people as well. This year, for instance, the Netherlands dropped 15 places in the Global Gender Index, the annual benchmark of gender inequality. That shows clearly that ‘Dutch culture’ itself has a long way to go.
‘Men who commit street harassment see ‘Western’ women as prey’
We see this claim in the Telegraaf coverage. With ‘Western’, the journalists seem to mean ‘white’: in the media, street harassment is often presented as something that mainly affects white women. Yet research by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) shows this is not true: women who wear a hijab are more often targeted by street harassment than white women, for example.
Movisie research further shows that 73% of the LHBTIQA+ community feel unsafe in public spaces, especially bi+ and trans people. LHBTIQA+ people of color experience not only sexism and queerphobia, but also racism. For example, through sexual racism or fetishization. This shows that street harassment does not affect everyone in the same way, and that different aspects of identity play a big role in how street intimidation is experienced. This is what we call ‘intersectionality’.
In short: street harassment does not only affect white women. To truly address it, we must recognize the different identity aspects that shape who experiences street harassment. Racist stereotypes do not help; they only deepen inequality and make solutions harder to find.
The impact of racist stereotypes
Whether intentional or not, spreading these ideas in the media has serious consequences. Chanel Matil Lodik wrote about this in Het Antiracismehandboek:‘The problem here is that the people who write the headlines don’t realize how dangerous this is for Black people. Or maybe the problem is that they do realize the danger, but care more about which headline will get the most clicks, regardless of the impact on the person in the interview.’ What Chanel says about Black people also applies to other men of color who are stereotyped by the media.
Negative stereotypes may seem harmless, but in reality they normalize and reinforce racist ideas. By repeating these stereotypes, whether intentional or not, media contribute to the sense that racist statements are normal and acceptable. This creates a climate in which ‘heavier’ forms of racism, such as structural exclusion or physical violence, become easier to justify. Racist framing is anything but harmless.
As journalist Rocher Koendjbiharie wrote about racist stereotypes that surfaced in coverage after the murder of Lisa: ‘People who only fight femicide when the perpetrator is not white, are not allies of women, but enemies of migrants.’ The same applies to street harassment.
Together against street harassment
At Fairspace, our mission is to make public spaces safer for everyone. We can only achieve that mission if we take street harassment seriously, without reinforcing racist stereotypes. Let’s work together, focus on real solutions, and recognize the intersectionality of those who experience street harassment.
Do you want to learn how to intervene as a bystander when you see racism or street harassment? Request one of our free bystander intervention trainings via this page.
Sources
For ’Street harassment mainly comes from men of a specific background (and white men do this less often)’
- Article Sociale Vraagstukken – Focus op daderprofielen geen oplossing voor straatintimidatie
- Research Poly-Strengths and Peer Violence Perpetration: What Strengths Can Add to Risk Factor Analyses (2020)
- Research Initial Test of a Model of Men’s Sexual Harassment Perpetration: Examining Indirect Effects of Social Dominance Orientation through Social Norms and Gender Role Discrepancy Stress (2023)
- Research Motivations behind catcalling: Exploring men’s engagement in street harassment behaviour (2022)
For ‘Street harassment is caused by cultural differences’
- Article NJI – Straatintimidatie: van oorzaak tot aanpak
- Fairspace blog – Ja, seksuele straatintimidatie is een probleem. Nee, dat is niet de schuld van zwarte mannen.
- Article NRC – ‘Vrouwenzaak’ gaat ons allemaal aan
For ‘Men who commit street harassment see ‘Western’ women as prey’
- Fairspace blog – Wat is straatintimidatie en wat kan ik ertegen doen (2024)
- CVdrM report – Veilig jezelf zijn in het openbaar (2019)
- FRA report – Being Muslim in the EU (2024)
- Article Kimberley Crenshaw – Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex
Other sources
- Article/research Pointer – Op deze kaart onthullen vrouwen meer dan 13.000 onveilige plekken – check je buurt
- Segment Telegraaf – Wierd Duk over straatintimidatie: ‘Zullen we de olifant in de kamer even benoemen?’
- Article NRC – Misdaadjournalist Mick van Wely ontslagen wegens seksueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag
- Chanel Matil Lodik – Het Antiracismehandboek
