Is wolf-whistling a sex crime?

I am more interested in who told the newspapers, more than one paper carrying the story.

Why does the young woman believe it is worth posing for the photos seen in the papers, or are they photos taken before the incident and either she or somebody else gave them to the press.

I would have thought a young girl who felt scared or intimidated by this 'ordeal' would hardly have wanted the story to be so openly publicised and more so accompanied by photos of herself splashed all over the place.

I think we do understand the subtleties of - and less than subtle - harrassment but perhaps learnt to deal with it and avoiding putting oneself in the situation by changing one's route could be one of them.
Going to the police and appearing in the national newspapers would seem to be cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.

have decided

The reason I posted in the first place was that it was reported as being a sex CRIME. I think there is a difference between a crime ie criminal and harassment ,but I have ,hey what do I know?.

Why should this young woman change her route to work? It's the male's behaviour that needs to change.

Soutra I was baffled as to why you kicked off at soontobe I thought she was saying some wolf whistles are okay (friendly, flirty) and others are not (aggressive controlling threatening behaviour)

That's my view of the matter. The woman concerned had probably come to dread passing those particular builders. The builders were probably aware of her discomfort and were having fun at her expense.

I am amazed there are so many posters on GN who don't seem to have a clue about the subtleties of sexual harassment.

I wish I thought you were right, Mishap. I don't think men ought to feel free to shout at or whistle at women but neither do I think it should be a police matter. I don't think political candidates should make ignorant and prejudiced remarks about same sex couples but I don't think that should be a police matter either.

Sorry I think it is sad that some people actually want to be whistled at. Is this the only way they can find value in themselves? It seems a bit desperate. I though we settled this in the seventies and that most men wouldn't do it now. And as for standing in the girl's way that is totally unacceptable.

Absent
I would welcome even a wolf whittle these days!

I think the 'threatening behaviour' was that one builder jumped in front of her and said 'good morning'. That could make a girl on her own uneasy even if he was just being stupid.
After a month she has changed her route to work. What took her so long?

Wolf whittles? Can wolves whittle? Sorry – whistles.

I occasionally get whistled at when some guy sees me from the back – tall, blonde and slim with a neat butt. I get my own back by turning around and creasing my wrinkly face into a smile. That shuts him up.

I think it would be better if wolf whittles went completely out of fashion – after all they are a sign of viewing women as purely sexual beings. Much more unpleasant and distressing are the sorts of comments such a "I could do you a favour" which can seem very threatening, especially to teenagers and young women.

This is standard media practice - highlight the one thing that might be seen as controversial to use in the headline.

Wolf whistling is harmless; obstructing a woman's path in a threatening way is not. Presumably that is what the police are looking into.

This is a few years ago now, but relevant:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2174531/College-girls-banned-from-whistling-at-builders.html

Working in the construction industry means she has more identity to her fellow workers, and after doing it for a while she can differentiate the approving sort from the aggressive ones - and get the aggressive whistler into trouble as she can name him.

A young girl waylaid by a gang of whistling strangers can't tell whether they are approving or aggressive, so they all seem aggressive.

It's a fuss about nothing, isn't it? But, have you noticed that in recent years we seem to have become a country where we make a fuss about nothing and over-react, rather than being the 'stiff-upper-lip' country which we once were. Perhaps we need to find the balance between the two.

There is the flirty, fun sort.
And the creepy, mean sort and worse.

One of my daughters works in the construction industry, hard hat and everything. I have asked her her opinion. I am awaiting her reply.
For what it is worth, she has never had any trouble with the hundreds of men she works with daily.

Ps I'm not surprised that the comedian is Australian - if you got offended all the time you were over there you would spend the whole time in a huff!

So which "sort" do you welcome, according to your theory, soontobe and what is the "other sort"???

I have practised and practised but I still can't do that whistle with two fingers in the mouth.
However, DD is excellent at it - that is how she calls her (Australian) husband in for lunch.
Must tell her to be careful!

There are several posters on here who are happy to be wolf whistled at, myself included.

Times have changed but I agree with annsixty. If I walked past a building site when I was young, I would be affronted if I didn't get a whistle.

Not blaming you annsixty , what's that old saying about "never letting the truth get in the way of a good story"? Typifies so much of what is in the media.

Mixed up my comedians ...he's actually Australian. It's a long clip but the 'offended' section starts around 3.30.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMoDt3nSHs

It isn't a crime but complaining to the police gets you on the front pages of the press