The Unseen Actor in Street Harassment: Analysing the Role and Awareness of the ‘Buitenstaander’

Abstract

This study examines the identification of a new actor within municipal approaches to street harassment, namely the 'buitenstaander'. It investigates the potential role of this ‘buitenstaander’ in municipal policies and their awareness of the phenomenon street harassment. The study employs discourse analysis of municipal strategies on street harassment and interviews with officials from various municipalities participating in the national Safe Cities program. The dominant discourse within municipal strategies revolves around three main pillars: Prevention & awareness, Victim support, and Street safety & enforcement. Of these, Prevention & awareness are prioritized targeting actors such as victims, perpetrators, and bystanders, with emphasis on the latter. However, there is ambiguity in municipal definitions concerning bystanders, typically viewed as those who intervene directly in incidents of street harassment. This aligns with definitions used by the national action program and Movisie, which describe bystanders as individuals who witness but are not directly involved as victim or perpetrator in misconduct/street harassment incidents. Nevertheless, this definition raises questions regarding individuals who indirectly influence social norms without directly witnessing incidents. This research identifies these individuals in the context of street harassment as 'buitenstaanders'. They are defined as follows: "Individuals who are not direct witnesses to or directly involved in incidents of boundary-crossing behaviour." Drawing on academic literature, including the work of Kimberley Fairchild, Bianca Fileborn and Tully O’Neill, my experience I gained during my internship at the municipality of Rotterdam and a documentary (that is part of this thesis) the study explores the role and awareness of these 'buitenstaanders' within municipal strategies. Theoretical insights indicate that 'buitenstaanders' can play both direct and indirect roles in reducing street harassment, distinguishing them from bystanders who primarily intervene directly. The direct role involves assuming a bystander role, while the indirect role influences social norms, even outside of specific incident contexts. The documentary, which I wrote, produced, filmed, and edited in addition to conducting this research, suggests the presence of a subgroup within 'buitenstaanders' who are less aware of street harassment and preventive coping mechanisms. Termed the 'unconscious buitenstaander', this subgroup unknowingly impacts municipal strategies. Their lack of awareness may prevent them from recognizing instances of street harassment and inadvertently trivializing the issue in conversations, thereby negatively influencing social norms. To mitigate these implications, the study recommends explicitly engaging the 'buitenstaander' in street harassment strategies. This involves conducting targeted actions in public spaces focused on their indirect roles and facilitating dialogues. By doing so, there is a greater likelihood of reaching the unconscious ‘buitenstaander’ and fostering awareness, for instance, educating them that street harassment occurs not only in dimly lit alleys at night but also in broad daylight on bustling squares.