More than a quarter of women are more concerned about being a victim of violence during the festive season, according to research.
And more than a tenth of women who have experienced abuse or harassment say that this happened at a Christmas party.
The findings come from a poll of more than 2,000 people in England and Wales carried out by Opinion Matters for the Government’s “Enough” campaign.
The campaign, which calls for an end to violence against women and girls, calls for people to safely intervene if they see someone being abused or harassed.
When it comes to intervention, the survey found that people are less likely to take action if the victim was a stranger, with 58% saying they were more likely to intervene if they knew the person.
It varied how likely people would be to take action depending on the type of incident they saw, with 67% saying they would be likely to intervene if they saw a man groping a woman but just 38% would take action if they witnessed a man catcalling a woman in public.
Violence is known to increase around national holidays, with concerns raised as formal Christmas celebrations return after years of social distancing and Covid-related restrictions.
Leela Dookhurrun, 22, who is supporting the campaign after being subjected to leering and physical assault on public transport earlier this year, said: “I know what male violence feels like first-hand. When it [the assault] happened to me I froze and felt so alone, but thankfully a bystander intervened and I was able to escape. Not everyone is so lucky.
“My message to anyone that witnesses violence against women is do something - don’t be passive.”
Daniel Guinness, co-founder and managing director at Beyond Equality, a charity working with men to stop violence against women and girls said: “The festive season is an important time to make sure that everyone is feeling festive, but also safe. Today’s research shows that a significant proportion of sexual harassment occurs at or after parties.
“To prevent this, we’ve got to get to the root of the problem by recognising and challenging behaviours and comments that normalise or excuse sexual harassment or violence or those that hide the impact of it.
“This might mean saying something at an office party, telling someone at a pub, offering help to someone; or providing a diversion.”
Last week home secretary Suella Braverman announced her support for a private member’s bill to make public sexual harassment an offence.
She said: “Every woman should feel safe to walk our streets without fear of harassment or violence. And that is why we are supporting this bill to introduce a specific offence on public sexual harassment.
“We are putting the needs of victims at the heart of our decision, which will mean the criminals who commit these acts face the consequences they deserve.”
