'Hey hottie, where are you going?'

You may recall another initiative from the municipality, run in 2022: a screen on the bridge near City Hall showed a woman shouting things like: "Hey you, wanna hook up?" The video was part of a broader campaign against street harassment. 

As part of this campaign, the municipality also made three videos depicting boys and men engaging in street harassment, such as chasing a woman and saying things like: “Nice rack!" and “That booty deserves an 8.5 out of 10!" The videos were accompanied by posters all around the city bearing the slogan "Stop acting like a loser." 

UU student Yvo Dragt did an internship in the municipality's Public Order and Safety Department, where he investigated how effective the three videos and one of the posters were. The research was part of his Master's thesis.

He conducted a functional analysis examining the impact of both the visual and textual elements of the campaign. He also used questionnaires to test whether the campaign could make the target group reflect on their behaviour. His findings revealed significant room for improvement. 

Improvements
The study shows that it’s not a nice strategy to focus on examples of street harassment, such as catcalling women. According to Yvo, by doing that, we're putting violators in the spotlight, which may contribute to normalising their behaviour. He also criticises the slogan "Stop acting like a loser", citing its negative and coercive tone, which may lead to resistance among young people. 

In his thesis, Yvo shares some recommendations for the municipality to improve the campaign. According to him, it would be better to deliver the message more implicitly. "You could say: ‘What if she was your mother or sister?' That way, you still maintain a confrontational tone, but without pointing fingers."

Focusing on intimidating men is not necessarily wrong, says Yvo, but campaigns that choose that route should also be clear regarding what kind of behaviour should be displayed instead. "For instance, you can include a voice-over at the end of the video, demonstrating the appropriate conduct when a woman is passing by." 

Using role models like rap artist Quentin Correia can also enhance the persuasive tone. “He has participated in campaigns about common social problems among this demographic before and can serve as an example to young men,” Yvo ponders.

The municipality announced that it will finetune the campaign this year, based on Yvo's findings and the opinions of residents, victims and professionals, as well as other information. "I am extremely proud of that," says Yvo.

Posters from the campaign

According to Statistics Netherlands, street harassment is more prevalent in big cities such as Utrecht or Amsterdam, where young women may experience wolf-whistling, catcalling, or being chased. 

Through its action plan focusing on education, information and awareness, the municipality aims to make it clear that harassment and abuse will not be tolerated. Offenders will be held accountable and victims will be offered support.

If you've been a victim of street harassment or witnessed it happening to someone else, you can report it through the municipality's website. 

Your input will allow the municipality to know where, when and how street harassment occurs in Utrecht, which will help them better address the problem. If you witness street harassment, you can help the victim by saying something about it or pretending to know the victim.