Sex-based harassment in public spaces became a standalone criminal offence today, as the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 came into force across England and Wales.
The law, which received Royal Assent in September 2023 but had sat uncommenced for over two years, creates a specific offence of intentional harassment, alarm or distress directed at someone because of their sex. It covers behaviour in streets, parks, public transport, taxis, shops and other everyday spaces, and carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
Statutory guidance for police forces was published on the same day, setting out how the offence should be applied consistently. The government said officers would use the guidance to ensure enforcement was robust and uniform across forces.
Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls minister Jess Phillips said the law would shift the focus onto perpetrators. “Instead of forcing women and girls to change their behaviour, we are going after those who choose to target and intimidate them,” she said.
The legislation originated as a Private Members’ Bill brought by then-Conservative MP Greg Clark and Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, with cross-party support. Its commencement follows the government’s violence against women and girls strategy, published in December 2025, which declared VAWG a national emergency and committed to bringing the Act into force on 1 April 2026.
Research by Plan International UK found that 75% of girls aged 12 to 21 in the UK have experienced harassment in public, with 62% reporting that they had avoided hobbies, socialising, work or education as a result. A further survey conducted after the Bill passed in 2023 found 49% said things had got worse in the intervening two years.
Our Streets Now, the youth-led campaign that helped push the legislation through parliament under the #CrimeNotCompliment banner, welcomed the commencement but signalled that legal change was only part of what was needed. Georgia Theodoulou, the organisation’s Director of Advocacy, said the law sent a clear message that public sexual harassment would no longer be normalised, but added: “We know that whilst this sends a message… the law alone will not change the problematic culture we still live in.”
Rose Caldwell, CEO of Plan International UK, echoed that position, pointing to the need for prevention work alongside enforcement, including tackling misogyny in schools.
The new offence sits within the Public Order Act 1986, as amended, and applies to behaviour done because of a person’s sex or perceived sex. It does not require the perpetrator to have been motivated solely by the victim’s sex.
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