Consultation outcome

Creating an offence of public sexual harassment

• From: Home Office
• Published: 21 July 2022
• Last updated: 8 December 2022 — See all updates

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

The government’s response to the targeted consultation on whether there should be a criminal offence of public sexual harassment

HTML

Detail of outcome

The consultation closed on 1 September, and we received responses from 25 of the organisations to which the consultation was sent, as well as 285 other responses. This document summarises the responses, in the order of the questions posed in the consultation.

---

Original consultation

Summary

Consultation document and impact assessment for the targeted consultation on whether a specific offence of public sexual harassment should be created.

This consultation ran from
1pm on 21 July 2022 to 11:59pm on 1 September 2022

Consultation description

Ministers undertook that by Parliament’s 2022 summer recess the government would launch a consultation on whether a specific offence for public sexual harassment (sexual harassment in public spaces) should be created.

This page contains the consultation document and associated impact assessment.

The consultation asks:

• whether or not a specific criminal offence of public sexual harassment should be created
• if such an offence were to be created, what it should look like
• whether the government should take additional non-legislative actions to tackle public sexual harassment (either instead of or in addition to a new criminal offence)

The consultation is a targeted rather than a public one, and it has been sent to recipients in:

• charities and organisations focused on crimes which disproportionately affect women and girls (including organisations focused on male victims of those crimes)
• victim-focused charities
• children’s and schools sectors
• organisations related to the world of work
• policing
• the legal sector
• local government
• night-time economy organisations
• transport organisations
• specialist academia

British Sign Language users

You can view the consultation in British Sign Language.

Documents

Public sexual harassment consultation

HTML

Ymgynghoriad mewn perthynas ag aflonyddu rhywiol cyhoeddus

HTML

Public sexual harassment consultation (easy read version)

PDF, 610 KB, 8 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Impact assessment (accessible)

HTML

Impact assessment (signed)

PDF, 353 KB, 19 pages

Published 21 July 2022
Last updated 8 December 2022 + show all updates

1. 8 December 2022

   Government response published.

2. 18 August 2022

   Added easy read version of consultation.

3. 9 August 2022

   Accessible HTML version (Welsh) and British Sign Language version of consultation document added.

4. 21 July 2022

   First published.