As of April 2026, if you are harassed in public because of your sex (or perceived sex), and the person uses threatening, insulting or abusive words or behaviour, they can be prosecuted and could be jailed for up to two years. This means behaviours like catcalling, following, or making lewd comments are now explicitly illegal.
This new law is a victory for a grassroots campaign led by girls fed up with the normalisation of sexual harassment of women and girls in public spaces, but there is still a long way to go in changing the culture.
It’s not OK to film women enjoying the beach or swimming in the sea. Listen to women about how this makes them feel.
Safe Space Brighton is open 11.30pm to 4.00am on Friday and Saturday nights. We would like to see more initiatives like this, open longer hours and with women-only spaces offered as part of the service.
The Saturn Centre, our nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre, is open 24/7 on 0330 223 0099 but survivors need to travel to Crawley for further help. The Survivors Network helpline on 01273 720110 is only open Monday, 7pm – 9pm and Wednesday, 12pm – 2pm. Many women do not trust the police and know there will be no action taken if they do report.
We would like to see more funding for an independent, women-run reporting service, covering voyeurism and harassment as well as assaults, to build up a more accurate picture of the number of incidents occurring on the seafront.
Police statistics do not report sexual assaults separately from other crimes of violence, making it difficult for women to know which areas of town are particularly dangerous.
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