As women continue to come forward with accounts of sexual harassment in Hollywood, France is putting its foot down to protect its female citizens and tourists.
France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, and Gender Equality Minister, Marlène Schiappa, put forward a new proposal this week, which will see people fined on the spot for catcalling women in public.
For those of you unfamiliar with the term catcalling, it’s defined by Urban Dictionary as when “a guy gives the wert whirl whistle or yells at a woman for the purpose of getting attention in the hopes of a future hookup”.
It’s unwanted attention from what TLC refers to as “scrubs” or “guys who think they’re fly” but also “known as a buster”. These advances often (almost always) leave the female recipient feeling uncomfortable.
In other words, it’s a form of sexual harassment.
Speaking to French publication, La Croix, Minister Schiappa said the proposal was “completely necessary” because currently “street harassment is not defined in the law”, which means women are unable to make a complaint about it.
She continued, saying she hopes the proposal will put an end to the crude behaviour and adjust society’s overall treatment of women.
Image: Gianluca Cosetta/Unsplash
“The idea is that society as a whole redefines what it is acceptable or not.”
Marlène Schiappa, France Gender Equality Minister
Schiappa offered an example of street harassme – when a man relentlessly asks a woman for her number and follows her for several blocks.
“We know very well at what point we start feeling intimidated, unsafe or harassed in the street,” she said.
If passed, France would be the fifth country to make catcalling illegal, after Belgium, Portugal, Argentina and New Zealand.
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