New Law on Public Harassment: Why Reporting Is the Missing Link

For years, that’s how public harassment has been brushed off.

Now, a new law targeting men who harass women in public is starting to change that, making it clear that this behaviour isn’t just uncomfortable… it’s unacceptable.

Recent coverage from Sky News highlights this shift, bringing public sexual harassment into sharper focus.

What this really means (beyond the headlines)

Is this just about criminalising behaviour? No, not just…It’s about changing what we tolerate.

Most women don’t experience harassment as a one-off incident - it’s a pattern, which involves:

• the comment shouted across the street

• the footsteps that don’t quite stop following

• the decision to change route, hold keys tighter, text a friend

Not every incident escalates, but every incident adds up. And for a long time, most of it has gone unseen.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth…

You can pass a law, but if no one reports what’s happening… nothing really changes

Most public harassment never:

• gets formally reported

• reaches police or authorities

• feeds into any meaningful data

So even when everyone knows it’s happening, systems still act like it isn’t.

imabi’s View: action gap

We don’t see an awareness problem - we see an action gap.

People:

• don’t always feel safe reporting in the moment

• don’t know where to report

• don’t believe anything will happen if they do

So they stay silent and silence hides patterns.

At imabi, we’ve focused on:

👉 making it easier to say something when something doesn’t feel right

Through Travel Guardian, people can:

• discreetly raise concerns

• share their journey with someone they trust

• access support without friction

• choose who they share with

• decide when it starts

• control when it ends

Source: Sky News, April 2026