Catcalling : a social problem in need of a legal solution?: criminalisation of street harassment from a comparative European perspective

Abstract

In this master thesis I will analyse the existing problems of the phenomenon of catcalling and its possible criminalisation from a legal and gender perspective. For this purpose, I will first describe the impact of street harassment in general and elaborate the problem of the lack of a uniform definition, which makes it difficult to capture the social problem of street harassment exactly and to analyse its damage fully. My aim is then to show that most forms of street harassment are already regulated by existing criminal offences in the criminal laws of various European countries, which leaves only the phenomenon of catcalling open for a discussion about a possible criminalisation. In this context, I will then look at already existing regulations regarding catcalling in different European countries in order to then address the question whether regulating catcalling in criminal law is an effective solution to the problem. Especially existing constitutional principles and possible practical hurdles have to be considered. In the end, it can be stated that catcalling as a social problem does not bring with it the conditions for criminalisation in the light of recognized constitutional principles. A decisive role in this context is played by the function of criminal law and the principles of legal certainty, ultima ratio and proportionality. This result, of course, concerns only the question of criminalisation, but leaving open other possibilities of regulation as an administrative offense or within the framework of civil law that need to be further investigated.