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Written question asked by Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 19 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 (named day). It was answered by Jess Phillips (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Sexual Harassment

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of a public awareness campaign around the commencement of the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act on 1 April 2026 in (a) deterring perpetrators, and (b) encouraging victims to come forward.

Answer

Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims, who are disproportionately likely to be women, feeling very unsafe. That is why tackling it is an important part of our mission on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

Our “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, published on 18th December 2025, committed to commence the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 on 1 April 2026. This includes publication of the statutory guidance for police on the same day, which is a requirement of Section 2 of the Act. We are working directly with policing to ensure everything is in place to support them in enforcing the aggravated offence from 1 April 2026.

The Government recognises the importance of challenging and changing the behaviour of perpetrators of public sexual harassment. That is why we are exploring opportunities to further raise public awareness of the Act and are exploring introducing a public sexual harassment awareness course to be offered to perpetrators to challenge and address their behaviours and reduce offending.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
122364
Session
2024-26
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Publicity Victims Sexual harassment
Legislation
Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk