Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population – R. Valtorta, C. Sparascio, R. Cornelli, C. Volpato
Il Mulino - Rivisteweb
Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli, Chiara
Volpato
Street harassment and its negative psychological
outcomes in an Italian university population
(doi: 10.1482/104812)
Psicologia sociale (ISSN 1827-2517)
Fascicolo 2, maggio-agosto 2022
Ente di afferenza:
Università degli studi di Milano Bicocca (unibicocca)
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Street harassment and its negative
psychological outcomes in an Italian
university population
Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli
and Chiara Volpato
The goal of this research was to document the
Gender-based violence represents
frequency of street harassment and examine thea widespread phenomenon, with a
broad range of negative physical
associations among street harassment experiences,
negative psychological outcomes, and changes and psychological consequenc-
in behavioural habits. A sample of students and
es for the victims (Baldry et al.,
workers at an Italian university was surveyed 2015; Campbell, 2002; Kilpatrick,
(N = 2,764). Findings indicated that exposure
2004). One of the most pervasive
to street harassment had negative psychological
forms of this type of violence is
effects regardless of whether people labelled their
experiences as harassment or not. Furthermore,street (or stranger) harassment,
analyses demonstrated that negative outcomes namely the experience of unwant-
deriving from street harassment mediated the ed sexual attention from strangers
relationship between harassing behaviours expe-
in public settings (Wesselmann &
rienced by respondents and the probability that
Kelly, 2010). Definitions of street
they changed their daily routine. Crucially, all the
harassment are somewhat variable
tested models remained significant by controlling
within the literature (see Kissling,
for participants’ gender, age, and role. Research
and practical implications were discussed. 1991; Lenton et al., 1999; Mac-
millan et al., 2000). For example,
Bowman (1993, p. 519) described
street harassment as «a type of sexual harassment that profoundly affects women’s
lives». Similarly, Darnell and Cook (2009) argued that street harassment shares
much in common with sexual harassment, in that the targets are forced to endure
the often degrading, objectifying, and threatening behaviour. Gardner (1995) de-
fined the phenomenon as «public harassment», whereas Vera-Gray (2016a, 2016b)
encapsulated street harassment as a «men’s stranger intrusion on women in pub-
lic». Howsoever street harassment is defined, it is clear that experiences of street
harassment are extremely common and most typically involve whistles, unwanted
The Authors Roberta Rosa Valtorta and Chiara Sparascio contributed equally to the work.
PSICOLOGIA SOCIALE – Social Psychology Theory & Research vol. XVII, n. 2, 2022 245
praise, persistent stares, requests for someone’s name or telephone number after
they say «no», comments and questions of sexual connotation, flashing and honk-
ing, groping, showing off the genitals, masturbation in public, sexual assaults, and
rape (Kearl, 2010).
Several studies have shown that street harassment is a global phenomenon. Re-
search from Australia suggests that almost 90% (N = 1,426) of women have expe-
rienced physical or verbal harassment in public at least once in their lives (Bennett
& Johnson, 2015), similar figures to a study in Afghanistan the same year, in which
a prevalence result for women of 93% (N = 321) was detected (WCLRF, 2015).
Through a qualitative investigation conducted among Indian women (N = 20),
Dhillon and Bakaya (2014) found that harassment within public places appears
to occur in multiple forms with high frequency, most often in broad daylight and
in crowded spaces. More specifically, frequencies mentioned by the respondents
ranged from being harassed on 50% of visits to public places to being harassed on
all such occasions. Furthermore, harassment took place in various forms, such as
men staring, passing lewd comments, and rubbing against women’s bodies. Cana-
dian and Egyptian research has found incidence figures of approximately 85% of
women experiencing street harassment in the last year (Lenton et al., 1999; Shoukry
et al., 2008). By conducting interviews with 42,000 women across the 28 Mem-
ber States of the European Union, the European Union Agency for Fundamental
Rights (2014) found that every second woman (55%) has experienced sexual ha-
rassment at least once since the age of 15, and one out five women (21%) in the 12
months before the survey. Of relevance to the present study, public environments,
such as the workplace or a school (20%) and out in the street, a car park or other
public areas (20%), served as settings of physical violence. Crucially, four out of 10
women (40%) now avoid public places where there are no other people around,
and a similar percentage (37%) deliberately avoid taking certain streets or going to
certain areas for fear of being physically or sexually assaulted.
Women (N = 228) in Fairchild and Rudman’s (2008) US-based research re-
ported experiencing stranger harassment on a monthly (41%) basis, while a large
minority reported experiencing harassment once every few days (31%). A similar
pattern of results was found in a survey implemented by the US group «Right To
Be» and Cornell University (2014) on a sample of 16,607 women under the age of
40 in 22 countries. Over 50% of the respondents reported they have been groped,
while 71% stated that they have been followed at least once in their lives. Crucially,
over 84% of the participants declared being harassed for the first time when they
were under seventeen. As for Italy (i.e., the context of the present research), more
than 50% of 1,459 respondents indicated they have been groped in the last year,
and 69% mentioned being followed by a man or a group of men (Right To Be,
2014).
Despite the relevance of these findings, only a few studies have investigated
street harassment. Some research has indeed focused on the broader phenomenon
246 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
of gender-based harassment by neglecting this specific type of violence (Fairchild
& Rudman, 2008; Romito & Feresin, 2019). As stated by Kearl (2010, p. xi), «street
harassment has existed since the advent of streets, but for centuries it has been
an overlooked problem». Similarly, Vera-Gray (2016b) asserted that street harass-
ment is the most understudied yet commonly experienced form of violence, espe-
cially against women. Indeed, due to the lack of legal sanctions, street harassment
is something that has occurred and has become normalised over the centuries. In
this regard, reasons for the sparse academic treatment of street harassment across
disciplines include trivialisation (Tuerkheimer, 1997; West, 1987) and normalisation
(Bowman, 1993; Larkin, 1997) of the phenomenon, too often dismissed as a «nor-
mal» expression of freedom of speech, considered banal and relatively harmless. In
this regard, Adhikari and Husain (2021) stated that women who face street harass-
ment usually tend to accept and rationalize that experience and get on with it with-
out really stopping to protest or ask why. Terminological difficulties also explain the
relative silence around the topic. Indeed, the lack of agreement on what constitutes
the phenomenon and how to name it have often complicated its recognition and the
comparison among studies (Vera-Gray, 2016b).
Starting from these considerations, the present research aimed to document the
frequency of street harassment and examine the detrimental outcomes for those in-
piduals who have suffered physical or verbal harassment in public contexts. Cru-
cially, we examined these experiences in an Italian university population, namely
an ideal sample for understanding street harassment and enriching the previous
literature on this topic. Indeed, most of the studies investigating harassment have
been conducted in university communities. For example, Richman and colleagues
(1999) surveyed employees in four university occupational groups (i.e., faculty, stu-
dent, clerical, and service workers) and found that harassment was significantly
linked to mental health outcomes for men and women. Crucially, Santinello and
Vieno (2004) investigated the prevalence of harassment in a sample of 640 female
students at the University of Padua and found that one girl out of three has suf-
fered a pressure to be «nice» in exchange for advantages or a better grade. Further
information in this field was provided by the EU research project «Gender-based
violence, stalking and fear of crime» (Balloni et al., 2012), which made it possible
to collect, analyse, and compare quantitative and qualitative data on the experience
of sexual harassment among university students in Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain,
and United Kingdom. In Italy, data were collected in the Universities of Bologna,
Udine, Urbino, Perugia, and Federico II of Naples. Overall, results showed that
78% of respondents from the University of Bologna and 69% from other universi-
ties reported having suffered sexual harassment at least once in a lifetime. These
results are particularly relevant. However, none of the above mentioned research
has focused on street harassment. Thus, through the present study, we aimed to
complete this detrimental picture by documenting street harassment experiences in
an Italian university population.
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 247
1. The phenomenon of street harassment
Although street harassment affects both men and women, women are dispropor-
tionately victims and men are overwhelmingly perpetrators of street harassment
(Stop Street Harassment, 2014). For this reason, some scholars have analysed this
phenomenon from a feminist theory perspective. More specifically, many authors
claim that street harassment of women by men is a form of male domination, fe-
male oppression, and a display of patriarchal power that perpetuates rape culture
and has detrimental effects on women (Davis, 1993; Thompson, 1994). In line with
these considerations, DelGreco and Christensen (2020) stated that one explanation
for street harassment is that men are threatened by a perceived lack of power and
status due to the feminist movement. Therefore, some men street harass women
as a form of retaliation and to let women know that the public sphere is a male
space (DelGreco & Christensen, 2020; di Leonardo, 1981). In this sense, street
harassment excludes women by reinforcing notions of the public sphere being a
male space where women are not welcome and by demonstrating male privilege.
As argued by Davis (1993, p. 142), street harassment episodes «genderize the street
by distributing power in such a way that perpetuates male supremacy and female
subordination».
Another feminist perspective is that of masculine bonding. Some men frame
their harassment as human nature, harmless demonstrations of sexual attraction,
and sometimes a way to bond with other men. Quinn (2002, p. 386) noted that men
often view street harassment as «harmless fun or normal gendered interactions».
Benard and Schlaffer (1984) found that the majority of men in their study believed
that street harassment was fun, harmless, and a cure for boredom, and it gave them
a «feeling of youthful camaraderie» (p. 71) when they engaged in street harassment
with other men. Likewise, Wesselmann and Kelly (2010) and Quinn (2002) found
that social bonding among men was a primary factor in street harassment.
Other scholars have gone so far as to describe street harassment as a human
rights issue because it is «a form of sexual discrimination that typically occurs in
relationships of unequal power» (Lenton et al., 1999, p. 517). Indeed, street harass-
ment dehumanizes and silences women by reducing them to their body parts and
mere sexual objects. In line with this perspective, several authors (e.g., Davis, 1993;
Kissling, 1991; Vera-Gray & Fileborn, 2018) have examined street harassment as
a tool of oppression, serving as a vehicle for sexism and dehumanization. The de-
nial of humanity results in perpetrators believing that women’s bodies are objects
for others. According to this perspective, Davidson and colleagues (2016) defined
street harassment as a prototypic sexual objectification experience in which women
are treated as though their bodies represent the totality of their personhood and ex-
ist solely for the use and pleasure of other people (see also Bartky, 1990).
Regardless of explanations or motives for the behaviour, it is plausible that
street harassment, similarly to the other forms of gender-based violence, has detri-
248 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
mental health effects for those who live these experiences. Indeed, although there
is a limited number of studies that have analyzed the mental health outcomes of
street harassment, many investigations have demonstrated that sexual harassment
and sexual assault have adverse physical or psychological consequences, such as
increased anxiety and depression (e.g., Kilpatrick et al., 2007; Willness et al., 2007).
Starting from these considerations and as reported below, we aimed at expanding
the literature in this area by examining street harassment and its association with
negative psychological outcomes.
2. Street harassment and negative psychological outcomes
Recent literature has shown that people who have experienced street harassment
have lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety, insecurity, and depression
than those who have not suffered such episodes (Davidson et al., 2016; DelGreco
& Christensen, 2020; Macmillan et al., 2000). In particular, Davidson and col-
leagues (2016) showed that street harassment was associated with a decrease in
security perceptions in crowded and isolated public spaces and a raise in general
anxiety levels. Moreover, security perceptions in isolated public areas mediated
the relationship between street harassment and anxiety. Through a correlational
study conducted among female undergraduate students in the US, DelGreco and
Christensen (2020) found positive relationships between street harassment and
anxiety and depression. Crucially, they found that these negative psychological
outcomes explained the effect of street harassment experiences on a worsening of
sleep quality.
By focusing on self-objectification, namely the process through which women
tend to regard themselves as mere sex objects (see Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997),
Fairchild and Rudman (2008) analysed the associations among street harassment,
self-objectified perceptions, and movement restrictions in a sample of young adult
women. Results showed that harassment experiences were positively related to self-
objectification in those women who coped with them using common strategies (e.g.,
passive, self-blame, or benign), but not for women who used an uncommon, active
coping strategy (e.g., confronting the harasser). Further, street harassment experi-
ences and self-objectification positively correlated with fear of and perceived risk
of rape that, in turn, were associated with changes in behavioural habits (i.e., more
restrictions on freedom of movement).
Of particular relevance to the present research, some scholars have shown that
all these negative psychological outcomes occur whether the victim label their expe-
riences as harassment or not. For example, Magley and colleagues (1999) found that
whether or not women consider their experience to constitute street harassment,
they experience similar negative psychological, work, and health consequences. It
is thus the harassment and not its label or appraisal as stressful that leads to detri-
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 249
mental outcomes for well-being. Indeed, as reported by the authors, not all women
label their experiences as harassment, which suggests that the labelling process may
be so far removed from the psychological experience of being harassed that there
may be little reason to expect it to moderate the experience and its outcomes. In
this regard, there is a relatively large literature (e.g., Fitzgerald & Hesson-McInnis,
1989; Frazier et al., 1995; Magley et al., 1999; Terpstra & Baker, 1987) documenting
that when asked what constitutes harassment, inpiduals are likely to endorse sexu-
ally coercive behaviours, but give not clear responses to unwanted sexual attention.
Therefore, one possible reason women might not label their experiences as harass-
ment is because the particular situation they experienced does not conform to their
personal definition of harassment.
Building from these arguments, we aimed to document the frequency of street
harassment in an Italian university population and examine the associations among
street harassment experiences, negative psychological outcomes, and changes in
behavioural habits. In line with the literature reported above, we expected that
women would experience more street harassment than men (Hypothesis 1a), and
that the perpetrators would be mainly men (Hypothesis 1b). Furthermore, we as-
sumed that exposure to street harassment would have negative psychological ef-
fects regardless of whether people labelled their experiences as harassment or not
(Hypothesis 2). In addition, we hypothesized that negative outcomes deriving from
street harassment might explain the relationship between harassing behaviours ex-
perienced by respondents and the probability that they changed their daily routine
(Hypothesis 3). Finally, through additional analyses, we aimed to examine whether
participants’ gender and age moderated the relationship between exposure to street
harassment and negative psychological outcomes, changes in habits, and street ha-
rassment labelling.
3. The present study
3.1. Method
3.1.1. Participants and procedure
Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of Mila-
no-Bicocca prior to data collection (protocol n. 598; 03/2021). Participation in the
study was voluntary, and all participants consented to take part anonymously and
confidentially. Given the correlational nature of our study, we aimed at collecting
data on a large sample (i.e., N > 250) that would guarantee the stability of the tested
correlations (Schönbrodt & Perugini, 2013) and a power of .80 for correlation as
low as .17, as determined by a priori power analysis conducted using G*Power
(Faul et al., 2009).
250 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
Table 1
Sociodemographic characteristics of the sample
Characteristics n %
Gender
Female 2,400 86.83
Male 338 12.23
Non-binary 12 0.43
Prefer not to answer 14 0.51
Age in years
18-25 2,112 76.41
26-40 479 17.33
41-50 94 3.40
51 and older 77 2.79
NA 2 0.07
Role
Student 2,409 87.16
Researcher 146 5.28
Professor 102 3.69
Technical-administrative worker 101 3.65
NA 6 0.22
Department (a)
Educational Sciences 501 20.80
Psychology 469 19.47
Sciences 425 17.64
Economics and Statistics 301 12.49
Law 251 10.42
Sociology 251 10.42
Medicine and Surgery 195 8.09
NA 16 0.66
Note: N = 2,764. (a) Department was requested only for students.
Data were collected through an online questionnaire using the Qualtrics sur-
vey web system. The link was distributed to all the students and personnel of the
University of Milano-Bicocca via institutional e-mails between May and June 2021
so that people were able to participate in the study if desired. In order to get ac-
cess to the questionnaire, respondents had to read the information about the study
and agree to participate. A total of 59,455 among students, researchers, professors,
and technical-administrative workers received the invitation, and only completely
fulfilled questionnaires were included in the analyses1. The considered final sample
was composed of 2,764 participants (2,400 females, 338 males, 12 non-binaries,
14 prefer not to answer) who fully completed all the scales. The age distribution
ranged between 18 and over 51, with approximately 76% of the respondents re-
ported an age between 18 and 25 years old (see Table 1 for more details).
1
The institutional e-mail address provided to students by the University of Milano-Bicocca re-
mains active for the three academic years following graduation. It is thus likely that some students
ignored the invitation to participate in the survey because they had already left the university.
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 251
3.1.2. Measures
The following scales were used to measure participants’ experiences and opin-
ions about street harassment. The order of the scales within the survey was
fixed. The order of the items within each scale was randomized. After fulfilling
the scales described below, participants were asked to indicate some demo-
graphic information about themselves. They were then debriefed and thanked
for their participation2.
Exposure to street harassment. Harassing experiences were measured with 13
items describing different types of harassing behaviours and the frequency with
which the participants experienced each behaviour in the last four years3 (see Cam-
pos et al., 2017; Sullivan, 2011; e.g., «Someone made you feel uncomfortable with
a whistling sound»; a = .91). The score for each item ranged from 1 (never experi-
enced it) through 2 (once a month), 3 (2-4 times per month), 4 (every few days), to 5
(almost every day). For the main analyses, scores were averaged across the 13 items
such that a higher score indicated a greater self-reported frequency of street harass-
ment experiences (M = 2.01; SD = 0.68).
Street harassment features. Street harassment features were obtained by
presenting participants with an ad hoc created list of items about time (i.e.,
day, evening, night; a = .60) and place (e.g., park, marketplace or shop, on pub-
lic transportation; a = .84). For each item, respondents were asked to indicate
how frequently the harassing behaviours listed in the previous question happened
at that time and in that place (from 1 = never through 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes,
4 = very often, to 5 = always). Furthermore, participants were shown a list of fea-
tures (i.e., sex, age, number of perpetrators, familiarity) and asked to indicate
how frequently the perpetrators had those characteristics (from 1 = never through
2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = very often, to 5 = always).
Negative psychological outcomes. To measure psychological outcomes of
street harassment, participants were asked to indicate how frequently they felt
different emotional and psychological states after the harassment experience.
In particular, the scale was constituted by 15 items adapted from previous re-
search (e.g., Bottesi et al., 2015; Kyriazos et al., 2018) and valuable on a 5-point
Likert scale from 1 (never) through 2 (rarely), 3 (sometimes), 4 (very often), to 5
2
At the end of the survey, participants were also asked to answer some open-ended questions. In
particular, they were asked to describe at least one harassing experience they have lived and at least
one harassing experience they have witnessed. Furthermore, they were requested to indicate some
suggestions about the role the University might play against the phenomenon. We focused here on the
quantitative part of our data collection, so we did not include qualitative analyses and results in the
current manuscript.
3
Over the past two years, people have spent many months at home because of the COVID-19
pandemic. For this reason, participants were asked to think about street harassment experiences con-
sidering a longer time period (i.e., four years).
252 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
(always). Following the preliminary analysis on the scale (see the Supplementary
Material on OSF)4, we removed four items because they worsened the scale’s
factor structure. The results of the principal component analysis conducted on
the left 11 items showed the presence of three factors. Based on the meaning of
the items, the first factor was related to self-objectification (three items, e.g., «I
thought obsessively about my appearance»; a = .75). Instead, the second factor
comprised those items that refer to anxiety (four items, e.g., «I felt I was close
to panic»; a = .70). Finally, the third factor was related to uncertainty about
life (four items, e.g., «I could not see anything good in my future»; a = .73).
Scores were averaged across the items such that higher scores indicated greater
self-objectification (M = 2.95; SD = 1.11), anxiety (M = 2.08; SD = 0.86), and
uncertainty about life (M = 1.37; SD = 0.63).
Changes in behavioural habits. Changes in habits were measured by asking
participants if they changed their behaviours due to harassment experiences. The
answer to the question was a binary variable (yes/no). In the case of a «yes» answer,
respondents were presented an ad hoc created list of items describing different ac-
tions (e.g., «Avoiding certain areas or streets»; «Avoiding public transportation at
night») and asked to check the options that best represented the participants’ be-
havioural habits they changed in their life. The items were created on the basis of
previous investigations, which used interviews and focus groups (e.g., Stop Street
Harassment, 2014).
Street harassment labelling. To investigate street harassment labelling, respon-
dents were presented the same behaviours listed at the beginning of the survey
and asked to indicate the extent to which, in their opinion, each of them could
be labelled as harassment (from 1 = not at all through 2 = slightly, 3 = moderately,
4 = very, to 5 = extremely; a = .90).
3.2. Results
3.2.1. Introductory analyses
Over 91% of respondents (n = 2,525) reported experiencing at least one form
of street harassment in the last four years. Table 2 shows the frequencies and
percentages of harassing behaviours experienced by respondents on the basis of
their gender (see the Supplementary Material on OSF for more details on these
results by age)5. The most frequent harassments reported by females involve feel-
ing uncomfortable because of a whistling sound and being looked at in a sexu-
4
Data and Supplementary Material are available from the OSF database, with the following ac-
cess link: https://osf.io/kuzjs/?view_only=1737f19f5161494ab06b1dbdede4d3ec.
5
Cf. footnote 4.
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 253
Table 2
Exposure to street harassment in the last four years by gender
Exposure to street harassment n (%)
Never experienced it Once a month 2-4 times for month Every few days Almost every day
Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other
1. Someone made you feel uncom-
fortable with a whistling sound 297 (88) 179 (7) 11 (42) 24 (7) 266 (11) 4 (15) 11 (3) 836 (35) 3 (12) 6 (2) 962 (40) 8 (31) 0 157 (7) 0
2. Someone looked at you in a
sexually allusive way 241 (71) 267 (11) 6 (23) 62 (18) 405 (17) 4 (15) 25 (5) 820 (34) 6 (23) 9 (3) 772 (32) 7 (27) 1 (0) 136 (6) 3 (11)
3. Someone was too close to you 215 (64) 497 (21) 8 (31) 84 (25) 693 (29) 6 (23) 34 (10) 837 (35) 4 (15) 4 (1) 333 (14) 8 (31) 1 (0) 40 (1) 0
4. Someone made gestures and
calls towards you 298 (88) 531 (22) 11 (42) 28 (8) 638 (27) 4 (15) 10 (3) 752 (31) 6 (23) 2 (1) 431 (18) 5 (20) 0 48 (2) 0
5. Someone shouted or said
obscene words to you 250 (74) 612 (26) 15 (58) 54 (16) 574 (24) 0 27 (8) 827 (34) 5 (19) 5 (1) 354 (15) 6 (23) 2 (1) 33 (1) 0
6. Someone slowed down and
pulled over with their car 316 (94) 785 (33) 16 (62) 20 (6) 653 (27) 4 (15) 1 (0) 630 (26) 5 (19) 1 (0) 302 (13) 1 (4) 0 30 (1) 0
7. Someone criticized your appear-
ance and/or insulted you 207 (61) 848 (35) 11 (42) 83 (25) 762 (32) 6 (23) 40 (12) 553 (23) 4 (15) 7 (2) 214 (9) 5 (20) 1 (0) 23 (1) 0
8. Someone touched you with the
hand without your consent 267 (79) 1,122 (47) 15 (58) 50 (15) 717 (30) 5 (19) 17 (5) 474 (20) 5 (19) 4 (1) 80 (3) 1 (4) 0 7 (0) 0
9. Someone tried to draw your
attention and, when you ignored
them, started insulting you 295 (87) 1,234 (51) 15 (58) 31 (9) 563 (24) 6 (23) 8 (3) 434 (18) 5 (19) 4 (1) 147 (6) 0 0 22 (1) 0
10. Someone started following you 303 (90) 1,240 (52) 14 (54) 28 (8) 674 (28) 7 (27) 5 (1) 397 (17) 5 (19) 2 (1) 83 (3) 0 0 6 (0) 0
11. Someone made sexually explic-
it gestures towards you while you
were walking 320 (95) 1,370 (57) 19 (73) 11 (3) 532 (22) 2 (8) 6 (2) 374 (16) 4 (15) 1 (0) 114 (5) 1 (4) 0 10 (0) 0
12. Someone showed you their pri-
vate parts 316 (94) 1,875 (78) 19 (73) 16 (5) 385 (16) 5 (19) 5 (1) 122 (5) 2 (8) 1 (0) 17 (1) 0 0 1 (0) 0
13. Someone asked you to do
something sexually or offered you
money for sex 315 (93) 1,978 (82) 20 (77) 14 (4) 277 (12) 4 (15) 6 (2) 127 (5) 2 (8) 3 (1) 16 (1) 0 0 2 (0) 0
Note: Male n = 338; female n = 2,400; other (non-binary and prefer not to answer) n = 26.
ally allusive way, with 9 in 10 women frequently experiencing such behaviours.
In particular, as shown in Table 2, only 7% and 11% of females indicated that
they had never experienced these episodes. Instead, the most frequent behaviour
experienced by males involves being criticized and/or insulted because of their
appearance. Regarding men, it is important to note that the percentages of the
Never experienced it option are always higher than 60% for all the harassment
experiences. Finally, for both males and females, the least frequent harassment
involves receiving explicit sexual requests, with 82% of women and 93% of men
never experiencing such behaviour in the last four years. Overall, in line with our
assumption (Hypothesis 1a), a t-test revealed that women (M = 2.12, SD = 0.64)
experienced more harassment than men (M = 1.24, SD = 0.38), t (644.09) = 35.72,
p < .001.
Table 3 shows descriptive statistics of the street harassment features reported
by participants. Results showed that harassing behaviours were mainly experienced
on public transportation and during the day and the evening. Furthermore, the
majority of the perpetrators were strangers, alone with the victims, and between 31
and 60 years old. Importantly, in line with our expectation (Hypothesis 1b), these
inpiduals were especially men, as indicated by the percentages reported in Table
3, according to which 98% of respondents experienced harassment by men at least
once in the last four years.
Among all the respondents who experienced at least one harassing behaviour,
over 97% of participants (n = 2,457) reported negative psychological outcomes due
to the harassment episode. Table 4 shows the frequencies and percentages of the
negative outcomes indicated by respondents on the basis of their gender (see the
Supplementary Material on OSF for more details on these results by age)6. The
most frequent outcomes reported by females and males involve states of self-ob-
jectification, with 82% of women and over 40% of men experiencing discomfort
because of their appearance at least once in the last four years. Overall, a t-test re-
vealed that women reported more self-objectification (M = 3.04, SD = 1.06), anxi-
ety (M = 2.13, SD = 0.85), and uncertainty about life (M = 1.38, SD = 0.63) than
men (M = 1.78, SD = 1.03 for self-objectification; M = 1.48, SD = 0.73 for anxiety;
M = 1.26, SD = 0.61 for uncertainty about life), all ts > 2.58 and all ps < .010.
Regarding behavioural habits, 60% of respondents (n = 1,503) stated that they
changed their daily routine after the harassment they experienced. In particular,
most participants (males and females) reported that they now avoid certain areas
or streets, try to hold the mobile phone nearby, and check not to be followed (see
Table 5; see the Supplementary Material on OSF for more details on these results
by age)7.
6
Cf. footnote 4.
7
Cf. footnote 4.
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 255
Table 3
Street harassment features
Street harassment features n (%)
Never Rarely Sometimes Very often Always
Time
Day 166 (7) 581 (23) 890 (35) 727 (29) 143 (6)
Evening 217 (9) 385 (15) 779 (31) 976 (39) 147 (6)
Night 805 (32) 402 (16) 533 (21) 637 (26) 129 (5)
Do not remember 2,064 (82) 226 (9) 160 (6) 51 (2) 24 (1)
Place
Inside public transportation 514 (20) 514 (20) 728 (29) 644 (26) 125 (5)
Downtown 465 (18) 608 (24) 858 (34) 530 (21) 64 (3)
Neighbourhood 746 (30) 635 (25) 687 (27) 412 (16) 45 (2)
Park 805 (32) 612 (24) 725 (29) 357 (14) 26 (1)
While waiting for a transportation 422 (17) 436 (17) 777 (31) 751 (30) 139 (5)
Near friends/family/partner’s house 1,091 (43) 660 (26) 571 (23) 187 (7) 16 (1)
Places for social activities (e.g., gigs) 1,139 (45) 698 (28) 515 (20) 164 (7) 9 (0)
Marketplace or shop 1,163 (46) 699 (28) 493 (19) 155 (6) 15 (1)
Eating places (e.g., bars, restaurants) 1,190 (47) 692 (27) 470 (19) 159 (6) 14 (1)
Near university 1,908 (76) 408 (16) 181 (7) 26 (1) 2 (0)
Gym 2,195 (87) 206 (8) 91 (4) 29 (1) 4 (0)
Inside university 2,325 (92) 153 (6) 36 (2) 11 (0) 0
Perpetrator
Sex
Male 61 (2) 87 (3) 66 (3) 139 (6) 2,157 (86)
Female 2,112 (84) 216 (9) 50 (2) 13 (0) 25 (1)
Do not remember 1,558 (63) 47 (2) 17 (1) 2 (0) 5 (0)
Age
Less than 18 years old 1,234 (49) 738 (29) 320 (13) 93 (4) 21 (1)
18-30 years old 239 (10) 410 (16) 773 (31) 876 (35) 164 (7)
31-60 years old 196 (8) 232 (9) 552 (22) 1,222 (48) 268 (11)
61 and older 929 (37) 512 (20) 501 (20) 407 (16) 64 (3)
Do not remember 1,220 (48) 147 (6) 139 (6) 40 (2) 29 (1)
Number of perpetrators
One person 64 (3) 227 (9) 678 (27) 1,130 (45) 413 (16)
Two people 516 (21) 446 (18) 912 (37) 569 (23) 28 (1)
More than two people 616 (25) 493 (20) 676 (27) 632 (25) 70 (3)
Do not remember 1,380 (55) 77 (3) 50 (2) 12 (1) 6 (0)
Familiarity with perpetrators
Stranger 88 (3) 144 (6) 173 (7) 536 (21) 1,577 (63)
Known 1,539 (62) 596 (24) 219 (9) 66 (3) 49 (2)
Note: N = 2,525. Participants who did not report any street harassment experiences
(n = 239) were discarded from these analyses.
256 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
Table 4
Negative psychological outcomes of street harassment by gender
Negative outcomes n (%)
Never Rarely Sometimes Very often Always
Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other
1. I felt discomfort and ashamed of
my appearance 107 (56) 410 (18) 7 (32) 33 (17) 319 (14) 2 (9) 20 (11) 518 (22) 5 (23) 19 (10) 639 (28) 4 (18) 11 (6) 427 (18) 4 (18)
2. I felt at the mercy of other
people’s gaze 117 (62) 211 (9) 3 (14) 23 (12) 204 (9) 3 (14) 26 (14) 505 (22) 3 (14) 18 (9) 807 (35) 5 (23) 6 (3) 586 (25) 8 (35)
3. I thought obsessively about my
appearance 130 (68) 903 (39) 9 (40) 30 (16) 404 (18) 3 (14) 12 (6) 413 (18) 3 (14) 11 (6) 380 (16) 3 (14) 7 (4) 213 (9) 4 (18)
4. I had tremors (e.g., in my hands) 147 (77) 809 (35) 10 (44) 18 (19) 494 (22) 5 (23) 13 (7) 519 (22) 3 (14) 5 (3) 371 (16) 3 (14) 7 (4) 120 (5) 1 (5)
5. I felt I was close to panic 153 (81) 1,219 (53) 11 (49) 20 (10) 507 (22) 6 (28) 6 (3) 326 (14) 4 (18) 7 (4) 186 (8) 1 (5) 4 (2) 75 (3) 0
6. I had trouble starting what I
needed to do 130 (68) 821 (36) 9 (40) 31 (16) 509 (22) 5 (23) 19 (10) 563 (24) 2 (9) 7 (4) 313 (13) 3 (14) 3 (2) 107 (5) 3 (14)
7. I overreacted to situations 132 (70) 1,054 (45) 10 (44) 31 (16) 576 (25) 6 (28) 12 (6) 387 (17) 4 (18) 9 (5) 211 (9) 1 (5) 6 (3) 85 (4) 1 (5)
8. I thought about giving up my
studies 169 (89) 2,002 (86) 19 (80) 10 (5) 159 (7) 1 (5) 7 (4) 86 (4) 1 (5) 2 (1) 44 (2) 1 (5) 2 (1) 22 (1) 1 (5)
9. I thought about moving away 168 (88) 1,893 (82) 16 (73) 6 (3) 161 (7) 2 (9) 6 (3) 136 (6) 2 (9) 7 (4) 76 (3) 2 (9) 3 (2) 47 (2) 0
10. I thought about changing my
job 173 (90) 1,993 (86) 17 (77) 8 (4) 150 (7) 2 (9) 3 (2) 97 (4) 1 (5) 3 (2) 41 (2) 2 (9) 3 (2) 32 (1) 0
11. I could not see anything good
in my future. 153 (80) 1,473 (64) 15 (68) 17 (9) 400 (17) 3 (14) 9 (5) 252 (11) 2 (9) 7 (4) 136 (6) 2 (9) 4 (2) 52 (2) 0
Note: Male n = 190; female n = 2,313; other (non-binary and prefer not to answer) n = 22. Participants who did not report any street harassment experiences
(n = 239) were discarded from these analyses.
Table 5
Changes in behavioural habits by gender
Changes in behavioural habits n (%)
Males Females Other
1. Avoiding certain areas or streets 19 (10) 1,195 (52) 7 (32)
2. Trying to hold the mobile phone
nearby 11 (6) 1,156 (50) 9 (41)
3. Checking not to be followed 23 (12) 1,108 (48) 9 (41)
4. On public transportation, sitting
near people of the same gender or who
seem «trustworthy» 11 (6) 998 (43) 5 (23)
5. Walking fast or running 13 (7) 990 (43) 5 (23)
6. Avoiding making eye contact 17 (9) 944 (41) 8 (36)
7. Pretending to talk on the mobile
phone with someone 10 (5) 933 (40) 8 (36)
8. Thinking in advance about how to
get home 10 (5) 896 (39) 4 (18)
9. Changing train car by choosing a
crowded one 7 (4) 891 (39) 5 (23)
10. Avoiding walking near groups of
people 14 (7) 883 (38) 5 (23)
11. Avoiding public transportation at
night 8 (4) 848 (37) 5 (23)
12. Always notifying someone of your
movements 5 (3) 773 (33) 5 (23)
13. Talking on the mobile phone with
someone 7 (4) 705 (31) 5 (23)
14. Sitting in the front seats of the buses 7 (4) 650 (28) 5 (23)
15. Avoiding walking or going jogging
in isolated areas 4 (2) 642 (28) 1 (5)
16. Covering up as much as possible 3 (2) 583 (25) 4 (18)
17. Changing the way you dress 9 (5) 525 (23) 3 (14)
18. Having someone accompany you 1 (1) 520 (22) 1 (5)
19. Avoiding walking alone 3 (2) 476 (21) 0
20. Avoiding going out 3 (2) 299 (13) 1 (5)
21. Avoiding long walks 1 (1) 300 (13) 0
22. Avoiding going to public transpor-
tation stops in advance 7 (4) 218 (9) 1 (5)
Note: N = 1,503. Participants who did not report any street harassment experiences
(n = 239) and those who indicated that they did not change their habits (n = 1,022) were dis-
carded from these analyses.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that all the harassing behaviours presented to the
respondents were labelled as street harassment by both males and females. Indeed,
the percentages of the Not at all option are less than 10% for all the harassment
experiences regardless of gender (see Table 6; see the Supplementary Material on
OSF for more details on these results by age)8. Overall, a t-test showed that women
8
Cf. footnote 4.
258 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
Table 6
Street harassment labelling by gender
Street harassment labelling n (%)
Not at all Slightly Moderately Very Extremely
Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other Males Females Other
1. Someone made you feel uncom-
fortable with a whistling sound 18 (5) 29 (1) 0 32 (10) 111 (5) 1 (4) 87 (26) 371 (16) 5 (19) 88 (26) 632 (26) 2 (8) 113 (33) 1,257 (52) 18 (69)
2. Someone looked at you in a
sexually allusive way 34 (10) 22 (1) 2 (8) 53 (16) 89 (4) 0 93 (27) 290 (12) 3 (11) 94 (28) 766 (32) 6 (23) 64 (19) 1,233 (51) 15 (58)
3. Someone was too close to you 19 (6) 18 (1) 0 45 (13) 76 (3) 1 (4) 105 (31) 467 (19) 5 (19) 116 (34) 1,049 (44) 12 (47) 53 (16) 790 (33) 8 (30)
4. Someone made gestures and
calls towards you 16 (5) 19 (1) 0 37 (11) 68 (3) 0 80 (24) 288 (12) 3 (11) 107 (31) 786 (33) 9 (35) 98 (29) 1,239 (51) 14 (54)
5. Someone shouted or said
obscene words to you 11 (3) 15 (1) 0 24 (7) 36 (1) 0 50 (15) 155 (7) 3 (11) 100 (30) 537 (22) 5 (19) 153 (45) 1,657 (69) 18 (70)
6. Someone slowed down and
pulled over with their car 28 (8) 23 (1) 0 37 (11) 90 (4) 1 (4) 72 (21) 381 (16) 7 (26) 108 (32) 923 (38) 10 (40) 93 (28) 983 (41) 8 (30)
7. Someone criticized your appear-
ance and/or insulted you 16 (5) 63 (3) 0 53 (16) 189 (8) 2 (8) 73 (21) 504 (21) 7 (26) 106 (31) 728 (30) 7 (26) 90 (27) 916 (38) 10 (40)
8. Someone touched you with the
hand without your consent 11 (3) 20 (1) 0 6 (2) 11 (1) 0 8 (2) 26 (1) 2 (8) 38 (11) 76 (3) 2 (8) 275 (82) 2,267 (94) 22 (84)
9. Someone tried to draw your
attention and, when you ignored
them, started insulting you 12 (3) 23 (1) 0 19 (6) 51 (2) 0 34 (10) 201 (8) 3 (11) 95 (28) 610 (26) 7 (27) 178 (53) 1,515 (63) 16 (62)
10. Someone started following you 13 (4) 19 (1) 0 12 (3) 23 (1) 1 (4) 27 (8) 81 (3) 2 (8) 83 (25) 341 (14) 7 (26) 203 (60) 1,936 (81) 16 (62)
11. Someone made sexually explic-
it gestures towards you while you
were walking 13 (4) 18 (1) 0 11 (3) 26 (1) 0 28 (8) 99 (4) 1 (4) 85 (25) 406 (17) 6 (23) 201 (60) 1,851 (77) 19 (73)
12. Someone showed you their pri-
vate parts 13 (4) 30 (1) 0 2 (0) 7 (0) 0 6 (2) 16 (1) 1 (4) 17 (5) 43 (2) 0 300 (89) 2,304 (96) 25 (96)
13. Someone asked you to do
something sexually or offered you
money for sex 18 (5) 31 (1) 0 8 (2) 13 (1) 0 15 (5) 34 (1) 1 (4) 39 (12) 167 (7) 2 (8) 258 (76) 2,155 (90) 23 (88)
Note: Male n = 338; female n = 2,400; other (non-binary and prefer not to answer) n = 26.
(M = 4.47, SD = 0.51) more frequently labelled harassing behaviours as street ha-
rassment than men (M = 4.01, SD = 0.78), t (377.36) = 10.38, p < .001.
3.2.2. Main analyses
In order to simplify the interpretation of the subsequent analyses, the socio-de-
mographic variables included in the study were re-coded. In particular, age was
re-coded as 1 = 18-40 years old, 2 = 41 and older. Instead, regarding role, we joined
researchers, professors, and technical-administrative workers in the same category
by re-coding this variable as 0 = student, 1 = personnel.
As reported in Table 7, correlation analysis showed that exposure to street harass-
ment was positively associated with all the subscales of negative outcomes (i.e., self-
objectification, anxiety, and uncertainty about life), changes in habits, and labelling the
events as harassing behaviours. Further, all the negative outcomes of harassment were
positively correlated with changes in habits and street harassment labelling. This latter
variable was positively associated with changes in habits. Finally, gender, age, and role
correlated with all the considered variables. In particular, results showed that females,
younger respondents, and students scored higher in exposure to street harassment,
negative outcomes, probability to change habits, and street harassment labelling.
To determine if exposure to street harassment had negative effects regard-
less of whether people labelled their experiences as harassment or not (Hypoth-
esis 2), we tested three moderation models by conducting multiple linear regres-
sion analyses. In particular, exposure to street harassment was conceptualized
as independent variable, street harassment labelling was entered as the mod-
erator, and the three subscales of negative psychological outcomes of harass-
ment (i.e., self-objectification, anxiety, and uncertainty about life) were entered
as dependent variables (see Figure 1). Given that gender, age, and role emerged
as significantly related to the considered variables, we treated this information
as covariates in all the tested models. Regarding self-objectification and anxiety,
the results showed positive main effects of exposure to harassing behaviours and
street harassment labelling (all ps < .001). However, in line with our hypothesis,
the tested moderations were not supported, as shown by the non-significant in-
teraction effects (p = .177 for self-objectification, p = .274 for anxiety). Instead,
regarding uncertainty about life, only exposure to street harassment had a sig-
nificant positive effect (p < .001). Both street harassment labelling and the inter-
action effect were not significant (all ps > .05).
Since the variable about changes in habits was dichotomous, multiple linear
and logistic regressions were used to test for the mediation effects of negative
psychological outcomes deriving from street harassment in the relationship be-
tween exposure to harassing behaviours and changes in habits (Hypothesis 3).
Gender, age, and role were treated as covariates. As shown in Table 8, expo-
260 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
Table 7
Correlations among the variables considered in the study
Variable 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Exposure to street harassment –
2. Self-objectification .52** –
3. Anxiety .56** .50** –
4. Uncertainty about life .38** .38** .44** –
5. Changes in habits (a) .41** .40** .44** .27** –
6. Street harassment labelling .22** .24** .19** .08** .14** –
7. Gender (b) .43** .30** .20** .05** .21** .26** –
8. Age (c) –.27** –.20** –.11** –.08** –.12** –.09** –.15** –
9. Role (d) –.29** –.25** –.15** –.09** –.15** –.11** –.19** .59**
Note: (a) 0 = no, 1 = yes; (b) 0 = male, 1 = female. Participants who identified themselves
as «Non-binary» and those who selected the «Prefer not to answer» option (n = 26) were dis-
carded from the analysis. (c) 1 = 18-40 years old, 2 = 41 and older. (d) 0 = student, 1 = person-
nel. ** p < .001.
Table 8
Regressions of exposure to street harassment on changes in habits when negative outcomes (i.e.,
self-objectification, anxiety, and uncertainty about life) were the mediators
b (SE) Beta t 95% CI for b p
Lower Upper
Prediction of self-objectification
Exposure to street harassment 0.76 (0.03) 0.44 24.69 0.70 0.82 <.001
Gender (a) 0.63 (0.07) 0.15 8.69 0.49 0.78 <.001
Age (b) –0.35 (0.11) –0.61 –3.12 –0.57 –0.13 .002
Role (c) –0.40 (0.07) –0.11 –5.43 –0.55 –0.26 <.001
Prediction of anxiety
Exposure to street harassment 0.73 (0.02) 0.54 30.63 0.69 0.78 <.001
Gender (a) 0.11 (0.06) 0.03 1.89 –0.004 0.22 .059
Age (b) 0.11 (0.09) 0.02 1.24 –0.06 0.28 .214
Role (c) –0.13 (0.06) –0.04 –2.18 –0.24 –0.01 .029
Prediction of uncertainty about life
Exposure to street harassment 0.39 (0.02) 0.39 19.68 0.35 0.42 <.001
Gender (a) –0.16 (0.05) –0.07 –3.51 –0.25 –0.07 <.001
Age (b) 0.07 (0.07) 0.02 1.03 –0.07 0.21 .301
Role (c) –0.05 (0.05) –0.02 –1.01 –0.14 0.05 .314
b (SE) OR Wald 95% CI for OR p
Lower Upper
Prediction of changes in habits
Exposure to street harassment 0.64 (0.10) 1.89 38.31 1.55 2.32 <.001
Self-objectification 0.34 (0.05) 1.40 39.32 1.26 1.56 <.001
Anxiety 0.77 (0.08) 2.17 96.30 1.86 2.53 <.001
Uncertainty about life 0.43 (0.11) 1.53 14.39 1.23 1.91 <.001
Gender (a) –0.59 (0.21) 0.55 7.67 0.36 0.84 .006
Age (b) 0.19 (0.29) 1.20 0.41 0.68 2.13 .523
Role (c) 0.20 (0.19) 1.22 1.13 0.85 1.76 .288
Note: N = 2,503. OR = odds ratio. Participants who did not report any street harassment
experiences (n = 239), those who identified themselves as «Non-binary» and those who selected
the «Prefer not to answer» option (n = 22) were discarded from these analyses. (a) 0 = male,
1 = female. (b) 1 = 18-40 years old, 2 = 41 and older. (c) 0 = student, 1 = personnel. Significant
effects are in italic type.
Figure 1
Results of the tested moderation models. Standardized coefficients with 95% confidence intervals
are reported. Participants who did not report any street harassment experiences (n = 239), those
who identified themselves as «Non-binary» and those who selected the «Prefer not to answer»
option (n = 22) were discarded from these analyses. Dashed arrows represent non-significant effects
Street harassment
labelling
–0.08 0.25**
0.51** Gender
[–0.18, 0.03] [0.17, 0.32]
Exposure to –0.29*
Self-objectification Age
street harassment
0.75**
[0.69, 0.81]
–0.40** Role
Street harassment
labelling
0.05 0.17**
0.05 Gender
[–0.04, 0.13] [0.11, 0.23]
Exposure to 0.14
Anxiety Age
street harassment
0.72**
[0.67, 0.77]
–0.12* Role
Street harassment
labelling
0.05 0.04
–0.16** Gender
[–0.02, 0.11] [–0.01, 0.09]
Exposure to Uncertainty 0.08
Age
street harassment about life
0.38**
[0.34, 0.42]
–0.05 Role
* p < .05, ** p < .001.
262 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
sure to street harassment was positively related to all the negative outcomes of
harassing behaviours (i.e., self-objectification, anxiety, and uncertainty about
life) and changes in habits. Negative outcomes deriving from harassing experi-
ences were also connected with a greater probability of changing habits. All
the indirect effects of negative outcomes of harassment on the relationship be-
tween street harassment experiences and changes in habits were positive and
significant (a*b = 0.26, p < .001 for self-objectification; a*b = 0.56, p < .001 for
anxiety; a*b = 0.17, p < .001 for uncertainty about life). Therefore, in line with
our assumption, negative outcomes deriving from street harassment experi-
ences mediated the relationship between harassing behaviours experienced by
respondents and the probability that they changed their daily routine.
3.2.3. Additional analyses
A series of moderation models were tested to explore whether participants’ gen-
der and age moderated the relationships between exposure to street harassment
and the other key variables (i.e., negative psychological outcomes, changes in
habits, and street harassment labelling). In particular, exposure to street harass-
ment was considered as independent variable, gender and age were entered as the
moderators, and negative psychological outcomes, changes in habits, and street
harassment labelling as dependent variables. Regarding age, no moderation was
observed (ps > .133 for all the interaction effects; for more details see the Supple-
mentary Material on OSF)9. Instead, gender was a significant moderator only of
the associations between exposure to street harassment and the three negative
psychological outcomes considered in the study (i.e., self-objectification, anxi-
ety, and uncertainty about life). Although the relationships between harassment
experiences and the three negative outcomes were always significant, these as-
sociations were stronger for male than for female respondents (see Table 9 and
Figure 2).
4. Discussion
The main aim of this study was to document the frequency of street harassment and
examine the associations among street harassment experiences, negative psycholog-
ical outcomes, and changes in behavioural habits in an Italian university population.
In line with previous literature in this field (e.g., DelGreco & Christensen, 2020;
Willness et al., 2007), we provided evidence of the relationship between exposure
to street harassment and anxiety, self-objectification, and uncertainty about life.
9
Cf. footnote 4.
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 263
Table 9
Moderation effect of gender on the associations between exposure to street harassment and negative psychological outcomes
Self-objectification Anxiety Uncertainty about life
b (SE) t 95% CI p b (SE) t 95% CI p b (SE) t 95% CI p
Lower Upper Lower Upper Lower Upper
EST 1.13 (0.16) 7.11 0.82 1.44 <.001 1.10 (0.12) 9.11 0.87 1.34 <.001 0.61 (0.10) 6.11 0.41 0.80 <.001
Gender (a) 0.45 (0.13) 3.52 0.20 0.71 <.001 –0.14 (0.10) –1.41 –0.33 0.05 .159 –0.31 (0.08) –3.87 –0.47 –0.15 <.001
EST × Gender –0.33 (0.16) –2.01 –0.64 –0.09 .044 –0.38 (0.12) –3.05 –0.62 –0.13 .002 –0.23 (0.10) –2.24 –0.43 –0.03 .025
Male 1.13 (0.16) 7.11 0.82 1.44 <.001 1.10 (0.12) 9.11 0.87 1.34 <.001 0.61 (0.10) 6.11 0.41 0.80 <.001
Female 0.81 (0.03) 25.72 0.74 0.87 <.001 0.73 (0.02) 30.49 0.68 0.77 <.001 0.38 (0.02) 19.43 0.34 0.42 <.001
Note: EST = Exposure to street harassment. Male n = 190; female n = 2,313. Participants who did not report any street harassment experiences (n = 239),
those who identified themselves as «Non-binary» and those who selected the «Prefer not to answer» option (n = 22) were discarded from these analyses.
(a) 0 = male, 1 = female. Significant effects are in italic type.
Figure 2
Moderation effect of gender in the relationships between exposure to street harassment and self-
objectification, anxiety, and uncertainty about life
Exposure to street harassment
5
Self-objectification
4
3.51
3.26
3
2.49
2
1.82
1
Low High
5
4
Anxiety
3 2.93
2.55
2
1.63
1.53
1
Low High
5
Uncertainty about life
4
3
2 2.06
1.28 1.60
1 1.12
Low High
Male Female
More specifically, we found that exposure to street harassment was associated with
negative psychological outcomes regardless of whether people studying and work-
ing at the university labelled their experiences as harassment or not. Furthermore,
analyses demonstrated that negative outcomes deriving from street harassment me-
diated the relationship between harassing episodes experienced by respondents and
the probability that they changed their daily routine. Crucially, all the tested models
remained significant by controlling for participants’ gender, age, and role.
According to our hypotheses and previous research (e.g., Stop Street Harass-
ment, 2014), we found that women experienced more street harassment than men
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 265
and that perpetrators were mainly stranger males between 31 and 60 years old. This
result and our overall findings on street harassment features confirm a well-known
trend in this field, according to which street harassment and gender violence are
usually perpetrated by men who are not known to the victim (i.e., not a co-worker
or friend) in public domains such as on the street, in stores, or on public transporta-
tion (Bowman, 1993; Fairchild & Rudman, 2008). Moreover, correlation analysis
showed that females, younger respondents, and students scored higher in exposure
to street harassment, negative outcomes, probability to change habits, and street ha-
rassment labelling. These results enrich previous literature on this topic, according
to which female and younger undergraduate students were more likely to be victims
of harassing behaviours (see Wood et al., 2018).
Besides, additional moderation models demonstrated that although the rela-
tionships between harassment experiences and negative psychological outcomes
were significant for both males and females, these associations were stronger for
male than for female respondents. In this regard, it is important to note that fe-
males’ self-objectification scores were consistently higher than those reported by
male participants, especially with lower levels of street harassment exposure (see
Figure 2). This finding seems to confirm the pervasiveness of self-objectification
among women regardless of whether they experienced street harassment or not.
Accordingly, a large body of research has documented that girls and women are tar-
geted more often than boys and men for sexually objectifying treatment in their day-
to-day lives (Murnen & Smolak, 2000; Swim et al., 2001). As a consequence, girls
and women tend more frequently to adopt an objectified view of the self. Indeed,
although being objectified renders women passive and powerless (Nussbaum, 1995;
Saguy et al., 2010), the objectified lens through which they come to view themselves
simultaneously emphasizes their value to men as sex objects.
Regarding the negative outcomes of anxiety and uncertainty about life, our
results showed stronger relationships for male than for female respondents. Even
though some studies examining sexual harassment among adolescents or young
adults found stronger negative effects for female than for male respondents or no
differences (Chiodo et al., 2009; Mitchell et al., 2014), others found that male re-
spondents were more strongly affected than females (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2016;
Romito et al., 2019). Crucially, Kaltiala-Heino and colleagues (2016) found that the
associations between most items of sexual harassment and depression were stron-
ger for boys than for girls. An explanation for these and our results is that girls
and women tend to perceive harassment as routine behaviour by thus reporting a
smaller increase in negative effects. In contrast, given that boys and men are less
familiar with the phenomenon, experiencing even a few harassment episodes im-
mediately made them more anxious and concerned about their future and lives. In
this regard, several authors argued that because women are more used to sexual and
street harassment, they have learned to live with it, whereas men find harassment
unexpected (de Haas et al., 2009; Johnson et al., 2010). Another explanation for
266 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
these findings may be related to the manhood threat. As indicated by many schol-
ars (e.g., Gilmore, 1990; Kimmel, 1994; Vandello & Bosson, 2013; see also Pacilli,
2020; Volpato, 2013), manhood is a precarious social status that is constructed in
antithesis to femininity. Thus, experiencing harassing behaviours usually directed
at women might raise doubts about one’s masculinity and elicit negative outcomes,
such as anxiety and uncertainty about life.
We believe that our study makes a novel contribution in different ways. First, as
far as we know, our findings constitute one of the first empirical pieces of evidence
of the frequency of street harassment experiences among students and workers at
an Italian university. It is noteworthy that whereas existing research has been con-
ducted almost exclusively among young women and on the phenomenon of sexual
harassment (e.g., Romito et al., 2017; Santinello & Vieno, 2004), we focused here
on a university sample involving both students and workers, and on one of the most
understudied yet commonly experienced forms of violence, namely street harass-
ment. Our results show that over 91% of respondents (i.e., 2,525 out of 2,764 par-
ticipants) reported suffering at least one form of street harassment in the last four
years by confirming the pervasiveness of this phenomenon even though people’s
experiences of intrusive behaviours in public space remains an understudied area.
Crucially, our study is the first to show the above mentioned trend of stronger as-
sociations of exposure to street harassment with negative psychological outcomes
for male than for female respondents in an Italian university sample.
By comparing our results with those of a previous investigation conducted in
2012 by the Equal Opportunities Committee of the University of Milano-Bicocca,
we detected an increase in harassment incidents targeting respondents in the con-
text of the university. In particular, by focusing on sexual harassment, researchers
found that 1.4% of the respondents (i.e., 58 out of 4,053) has experienced at least
one harassing episode within the university buildings since attending university.
Most of the episodes occurred in classrooms (24%) and involved unwanted com-
ments (42%). Instead, our data showed that 8% of the participants (i.e., 200
out of 2,525; see Table 3) had suffered street harassment inside university in the
last four years, with the majority of the episodes involving being looked at in a
sexually allusive way (92%; data not shown). Although the methodology adopt-
ed in the two investigations is quite different, this comparison seems to indicate
the relevance of our study in providing an updated and alarming picture of the
phenomenon.
Furthermore, our results expand research on the negative psychological out-
comes deriving from street harassment. It has been found that people who have
experienced street and sexual harassment have lower self-esteem and higher levels
of anxiety, insecurity, depression, and self-objectified perceptions (e.g., DelGreco
& Christensen, 2020; Fairchild & Rudman, 2008). Our research adds a tile to this
picture by providing quantitative estimates of the negative effects of street harass-
ment, a topic that we believe deserves more attention due to the deleterious mental
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 267
health effects documented in the current work, and by showing that these negative
outcomes occur whether the victim label their experiences as harassment or not.
Only a few studies have documented this peculiar and important association (e.g.,
Magley et al., 1999). Therefore, not only did we contribute to confirm the perva-
siveness of street harassment, but we also demonstrated that it is the harassment
itself and not its label or appraisal as stressful that is associated with detrimental
psychological outcomes.
In addition, we found that the harmful outcomes deriving from street harass-
ment are associated with the probability that the victims change their daily routine
and thus their relationship with urban spaces. In particular, we found that 52%
of female respondents experiencing street harassment at least once in the last four
years now avoid certain streets. Instead, 28% of females avoid walking or going
jogging in isolated areas. A recent investigation on safe perceptions indicated that
women and men perceive fear differently, and their psychological experiences of
cities are different. Women feel unsafe in cities and tend to avoid accessing towns
by way of walking due to this fear. Hence, perceptions of safety and fear hamper the
experience women have in cities (see Sethi & Velez-Duque, 2021). Our results and
previous findings provided important evidence that tangible action plans need to be
developed and adopted because (especially) women seem to feel unsafe while walk-
ing in cities. Due to this perception of safety, they might alter ways of engaging with
urban spaces. We believe that these results pave the way for a better understanding
of cities’ urban space, design, and gender relations. Indeed, using a psychological
perspective to design urban spaces can provide a preventative solution in making
cities feel safer and more accessible for women.
4.1. Limitations and future directions
Despite the relevance of our findings, some limitations should be considered. First,
whilst large and robust, the present sample is mainly composed of females (2,400
out of 2,764 respondents). Further investigations could increase the study of street
harassment by using a more balanced sample across gender. In this regard, it is im-
portant to note that the overall response rate was quite low, namely 4.6% (i.e., 2,764
out of a total of 59,455 contacted people; see also Note 1). Therefore, those who
responded to the survey were a self-selecting sample and may not be wholly repre-
sentative of the academic population. As a result, the estimate of the frequency of
street harassment experiences was not always clear and further research is therefore
required to develop insight into this.
Furthermore, the present study is limited by its cross-sectional and correlational
perspectives, and as such cannot determine causality with regard to the variables
analysed. Future research should examine the long-term impact of street harass-
ment experiences through a longitudinal design.
268 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
Another relevant point concerns the measure we used to investigate exposure to
street harassment. Indeed, this variable was measured with 13 items describing dif-
ferent types of harassing behaviours and the frequency with which the participants
experienced each behaviour in the last four years (from 1 = never experienced it to
5 = almost every day). However, we did not collect data on whether the selected be-
haviours referred to a single harassing experience (e.g., someone slowed down with
their car and made you feel uncomfortable with a whistling sound) and on when
the reported harassing behaviours occurred (e.g., two days or four years before the
data collection). Future investigations should consider this information in order
to better understand the incidence of the phenomenon and its negative outcomes.
Moreover, we believe that further studies should focus more on the role of street
harassment features in how these episodes are perceived. Burn (2019) investigated
how contextual factors interacted with inpidual factors to influence the incidence
of harassment and stated that personal predisposing factors (e.g., hostile sexist
attitudes) combined with situational factors (e.g., masculine group norms) could
determine whether harassment occurs. In the context of street harassment, Wes-
selmann and Kelly (2010) found that college-aged men were more likely to engage
in catcalling behaviour when in a group than when alone due to the influence of
group norms, the anonymity granted, and the opportunity for group bonding. Simi-
larly, Benard and Schlaffer (1984) found that catcallers described their behaviour
as both harmless and fun, with the majority reporting that catcalling helped them
to relieve boredom and develop camaraderie with other men. Thus, the presence
of other ingroup members contributes to harassment proclivity due to the anonym-
ity provided. Related to the role of harassment features, the research literature on
sexual violence documented that the capability of recognizing an episode as a rape
depends on the fact that it presents the features that qualify a rape episode accord-
ing to rape myths (Harned, 2005; Ryan, 2011; Sarmiento, 2011). Testing whether
the same happens for street harassment might be interesting for future studies.
Finally, it is important to note that we did not investigate the role of bystanders
through a quantitative perspective. Several studies examined bystanders’ behaviours
in different circumstances. For example, Baldry (2005) conducted a study about
bullying behaviours among students aged between 12 and 16 years old and found
that though the most likely reaction is supporting the victim by trying to discourage
the bully, gender differences emerged, with girls more likely than boys to support
the victim and boys more likely to encourage the bully or simply ignore. In the con-
text of intimate partner violence, several research projects have demonstrated that
victim-blaming attitudes, traditional gender role beliefs, hostile sexism, and accept-
ability of partner violence against women have been linked to a lesser willingness to
intervene (e.g., Baldry & Pagliaro, 2014; Cinicola, 2015; Cinquegrana et al., 2018).
Even though bystanders may play an important role in street harassment, there has
been limited research on their role and factors influencing their behaviour in these
peculiar circumstances. Fileborn (2017) examined street harassment victims’ expe-
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 269
riences of bystander intervention and found that bystander intervention was rare,
with participants indicating they had experienced considerably more street harass-
ment than bystander intervention. Similarly, 23% of men and 20% of women in
Stop Street Harassment’s (2014) study said they had proactively responded to street
harassment that they witnessed as a bystander. Furthermore, Fileborn’s (2017) re-
sults showed that bystander intervention often reduced the perceived harm of an
incident of street harassment and could form an important component of street
harassment victims’ justice needs. Future studies should deepen these results and
examine public helping reactions in order to reduce a victim’s secondary victimiza-
tion in street harassment cases (see also Penone & Spaccatini, 2019).
5. Conclusions
Although street harassment may seem a less severe form of victimization than intimate
partner violence or sexual assault, it appears to be associated with negative psycho-
logical outcomes, especially in terms of anxiety and self-objectification. Guidelines
drafted by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) reminded that violence is
a serious public health problem and encouraged health professionals to ask espe-
cially women about violence, listen to them empathically and non-judgmentally. To
implement this practice, health professionals should be trained and knowledgeable
about violence. Until now, their training has mostly focused on intimate partner vio-
lence or sexual assault; street harassment should be included (see also Romito et al.,
2017). Indeed, with a greater understanding of the links between different types of
violence – including street harassment – and well-being, clinicians will be better able
to care for their patients. Results from our study have the potential to inform design
for mental health interventions that could reduce negative health outcomes such as
anxiety and self-objectification. We showed that street harassment is not just a trivial
annoyance but a public health issue that should be further explored.
Acknowledgements
The Authors thank the people who answered the questionnaire and agreed to share
their experiences. They also thank the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Uni-
versity of Milano-Bicocca for giving them the opportunity to collect data among
students and personnel of the University. Furthermore, they thank the Editor and
two anonymous Reviewers for several insightful comments that significantly im-
proved the paper.
270 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato
Conflict of interest
The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
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Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population
The goal of this research was to document the frequency of street harassment and exam-
ine the associations among street harassment experiences, negative psychological outcomes,
and changes in behavioural habits. A sample of students and workers at an Italian university
was surveyed (N = 2,764). Findings indicated that exposure to street harassment had nega-
tive psychological effects regardless of whether people labelled their experiences as harass-
ment or not. Furthermore, analyses demonstrated that negative outcomes deriving from
street harassment mediated the relationship between harassing behaviours experienced
by respondents and the probability that they changed their daily routine. Crucially, all the
tested models remained significant by controlling for participants’ gender, age, and role.
Research and practical implications were discussed.
Keywords: street harassment, psychological outcomes, behavioural habits, university sample.
Street harassment and its negative psychological outcomes in an Italian university population 275
Corresponding author: Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Department of Psychology, University of
Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy
roberta.valtorta@unimib.it
ORCID: 0000-0003-0565-5463
Chiara Sparascio, Department of Psychology, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano,
Italy
c.sparascio@campus.unimib.it
ORCID: 0000-0001-7682-5998
Roberto Cornelli, School of Law, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo
1, 20126 Milano, Italy
roberto.cornelli@unimib.it
ORCID: 0000-0002-3403-5768
Chiara Volpato, Department of Psychology, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano,
Italy
chiara.volpato@unimib.it
ORCID: 0000-0001-8511-8662
276 Roberta Rosa Valtorta, Chiara Sparascio, Roberto Cornelli and Chiara Volpato