Just 5% of women are “very confident” the police would take a report of sexual harassment seriously

The anniversary of Sarah Everard’s murder by a Metropolitan police officer has prompted fresh conversation about how to keep women safe. YouGov has previously reported that confidence in the police’s ability to deal with crime has been eroded over time by several high-profile murders of young women, particularly that of Everard.

Now new polling reveals that the British public think the police would not take reports of sexual harassment seriously, with just a third of the general public (35%) and 39% of women saying they would be likely to report an incident of sexual harassment to the police.

Women are more likely than men to say they have experienced unwanted attention or sexual harassment in everyday settings

Across 15 scenarios, including being on public transport, exercising alone, getting taxis or ride shares and walking alone, women are more likely than men to report having experienced unwanted attention or sexual harassment. The most significant differences include walking alone in the daytime (41% of women have experienced unwanted attention or sexual harassment, compared to just 15% of men), walking alone at night (41% of women and 20% of men), and walking at night with someone else (35% and 16%).

However, these figures might underplay the number of women who feel unsafe in such scenarios, as there are also considerable numbers of women who say they never put themselves in that situation. This could reflect that some women are sufficiently fearful of their safety in a certain circumstance that they avoid it altogether.

Indeed, the data shows women are often substantially more likely than men to never put themselves in certain situations, with the greatest differences tending to involve scenarios that involve being alone or going out at night. For example, 43% of British women say they never use public transport by themselves at night, compared to just 22% of men. Similarly, three in 10 women (29%) never walk alone at night, compared to just 10% of men.

The majority of women who have experienced sexual harassment did not report the most recent incident to the police – and many felt as if the incidents were not worth reporting

Despite many women saying they have experienced sexual harassment, the vast majority did not report the most recent incident to the police.

Of those who said they had experienced harassment in any of the scenarios presented, just 3-5% say they reported the most recent incident in that category to the police.

Of those women who did not report one of their most recent incidents of sexual harassment to the police, two-thirds (65%) say it was because they did not think the harassment was worth reporting, while around half (47%) say they did not feel like the police would take the incident seriously.

Three in 10 (31%) say they would not have been able to identify the perpetrator of the harassment, while 18% say they did not want to report the incident and 17% did not feel comfortable talking to the police about their experience.

The perception of the police’s handling of sexual harassment reports is not positive among women in general, including those who have never experienced sexual harassment. When asked if they would report an incident of sexual harassment to the police if they experienced it in future, women are split – 39% say they are likely to report the incident, while 40% say they are unlikely to report to the police, and 20% are unsure.

Younger women are more likely than older women to say they would not report a future incident of sexual harassment. Just a quarter (27%) of women aged between 18 and 29 would tell the police if they were sexually harassed, compared to half (48%) of women over 60.

Women are not confident that the police will take reports of sexual harassment seriously

Most women (59%) have little to no confidence that the police would take a report of sexual harassment seriously. Fewer than three in ten women (29%) have much confidence, including a mere 5% who say they would be “very confident” that the police would take such reports seriously.

Younger women have less confidence in the police’s ability to handle these incidents than older women – just 18% of women aged between 18 and 29 would be confident that the police would take a report of sexual harassment seriously, compared to 35% of those over 60.

However, the 6% of British women who reported one of the most recent incidents of sexual harassment seem to have a better experience than expectations would suggest. Of this group, half (50%) say that the police handled it well (50%), although a significant minority say that they handled it badly (30%).

What should be the priority for authorities to keep women safe?

Many women would like to see a greater police presence on the streets to tackle issues around sexual harassment, with four in 10 women (41%) putting such a measure in their top three priorities for authorities to do to improve women’s safety. There is a clear generational divide on this measure, with older women far more likely to put it in their top three (52% of the over-60s vs 24% of 18-29 year olds).

For younger women, the most popular choice for what authorities could do to keep women safe is tougher sentences for sexual harassment crimes – 43% of those aged 18-29 would put this measure in their top three, compared to a third (34%) of women over 60.

See full results here