One day he comes closer and calls out. She is afraid and changes her route and travel time to avoid him. These are examples of what can be called public harassment . It is similar to sexual harassment, except that it takes place in public places which have not been a focus for sexual harassment policies. Public harassment is behaviour in public places that is unsolicited, unwelcome and unreciprocated.
Most public harassment is by men against women.
Women can be harassers too. Other prime targets are lesbians and gays, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. For convenience, the examples used here are of men harassing women. Three main types of public harassment are comments, touching and trailing. These may not seem to be a big problem, but they can be quite upsetting.