SHaRE IT! Sexual Harassment and Reporting Equity, Inclusion and Trust

• A recent Ofsted (2021) report¹ suggested that an estimated 90 per cent of young women and girls ages 13-21 years old experienced sexual harassment. 
  Racially minoritised girls specifically are assumed to be less innocent; ie more sexually active, are at greater risk for exposure to public sexual harassment and are more likely to be blamed for harassment committed by others towards them when compared to their white peers (Brinkman et al., 2021; Epstein et al., 2017; Espelage et al., 2016; Onyeka-Crawford et al., 2017; Plan International, UK, 2021; Rahimi & Liston, 2011). 
• Efforts are currently underway to pass a Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill in the UK, which raises the prospect of young women and girls needing to report such offences to the police. However, public trust in the police is low and current public perceptions of the police might more readily align with images of perpetrators of sexual violence, eg Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, rather than protectors.
• From a social psychological perspective, procedural justice is enhanced when police officers address the needs of the policed for voice, neutrality, respect and trustworthiness through listening and explaining with equity and dignity. 

Through the SHaRE IT! Project, we aim to enhance procedural justice for racially minoritised young women and girls, as well as reduce barriers to reporting public sexual harassment to the police. Toward this aim, we will work together with racially minoritised young women and girls, who will be empowered to share their voices and concerns around reporting public sexual harassment to the police, and who will also engage in the co-production of evidence-based solutions toward improving police interactions with vulnerable groups. ^{2 3 4 5 6}

Insights gained from this participatory research will inform the development of training workshops for police officers. A social psychological approach to creating inclusive learning ecologies, adult pedagogy and education for diversity, will underpin the workshop design.