Wolf whistling and other forms of street harassment are set to be made punishable by up to two years in prison - and claiming it’s a joke or a compliment won't help people avoid prosecution. Home Secretary Suella Braverman is expected to toughen a proposed new street harassment law so that potential offenders can't make excuses by claiming they did not realise their behaviour amounted to harassment.
The House of Commons was due to receive the bill for its final report stage on Friday (March 24). It will reportedly make it an offence to cause "intentional harassment, alarm or distress" to a person in public based on their sex and any offenders found guilty could face up to a maximum jail sentence of two years, Lancs Live reports.
Campaigners had claimed there was a loophole in the proposals that would let offenders escape prosecution by claiming they thought their behaviour was welcome, even if any other reasonable person felt it was not. The Home Secretary is backing an amendment that will close the loophole after accepting their concerns by requiring a “reasonableness test” where a defendant “ought to know” their behaviour amounted to harassment.
