Beyond street harassment

Abstract

Aim and relevance
The aim of this project is to design for understanding and reducing street harassment behavior among young people in Rotterdam. In 2020, nearly half (47%) of the women surveyed in Rotterdam, reported being targets of street harassment (Fischer et al., 2021). Street harassment is a persistent and normalized form of gender-based violence in public spaces that can have severe effects on the target. In Rotterdam, young people aged 15–25 are not only disproportionately targeted but are also often the perpetrators. Current interventions have focused primarily on supporting targets and bystanders or on raising awareness but often fail to address the social structures that sustain the behavior. This project addresses a critical gap: the lack of understanding about why young people engage in street harassment.

Method
To address the complexity of the topic, I used a combination of multiple design methods and practices. To better understand the social structures surrounding street harassment, I adopted a systemic design approach. To better understand the context of young people in Rotterdam, I adopted a participatory approach. Activities included, but were not limited to, stakeholder interviews (n=5), guerilla street interviews (n=27), two generative sessions with young people in youth hubs (n=7, n=12), testing the design proposal three times (n=3, n=5, n=5) and interviews with relevant stakeholders to evaluate the design proposal (n=5).

Results
The research showed that street harassment is difficult to tackle because it is deeply normalized and sustained by intersecting structures of inequality, like gender inequality, racism, and classism. It is not an isolated behavior, but is entangled with broader systems of inequality and identity formation that unfold in public space. When in public space, young people experience and reinforce these inequalities, but are unable to challenge them. Resulting from a lack of accessibility, agency and ownership in regard to their environment, young people conform to the status quo: a culture of inequality, in which street harassment is normal.

Therefore, the design proposal, a workshop, aims to increase young people’s sense of agency over the public space by enabling them to contribute to shaping public spaces in a way that is both fitting and valuable for them. Through engaging in speculative design practices, I created alternative futures of public space, made tangible in the form of scenarios and objects. In the workshop, young people engage with these scenarios and objects. Through discussions about the meaning and the consequences of these futures, they share their dreams and concerns about their own neighborhood.
Conclusion
Iteratively testing the workshop showed that the process is highly engaging and encouraged participants to think critically, listen to others and reconsider their own views. The design proposal enables urban developers and planners to gain insights into the preferences and priorities of various groups of youth, opening the door for more diverse and representative youth participation overall.

By shifting focus from punitive measures to cultivating agency, this project reframed young people not as part of the problem, but as a part of the solution. The project demonstrated two main things: the potential of speculative design as a tool for meaningful youth participation on public space, and that young people are willing and more than capable to contribute to societal issues it is framed accessibly and when they are taken seriously. With the right follow-up, the workshop has the potential to not just inform, but to activate as well. It can make young people feel seen, heard, and more aware of their role in shaping the future. More than anything, the workshop is a way to take young people seriously and to position them as valuable contributors to society.