“New Study Reveals Scary Consequence of Catcalling”
“The study, published recently in Psychology of Violence, found that many women who feel objectified begin to obsessively monitor their looks from an outsider’s perspective. That can lead to decreased sexual assertiveness and a higher risk of becoming victimized…
The study suggests that a psychological change may occur when a woman is catcalled or otherwise harassed; perhaps her ideas of consent or bodily autonomy shift or degrade. That’s similar to the changes that occur in survivors of childhood sexual assault; they’re often later revictimized.
One of the study’s authors, Molly Franz, tells the Ms. Blog, “Studies on sexual revictimization suggest that women who experience sexual assault are more likely to be revictimized due to psychological changes that occur as a function of the original assault. Our study also points to a potential psychological change that can occur as a function of repeated objectification experiences.””
We really need to be taking street harassment seriously.
Related: My Street Harassment 101
