Imogen Horton, a mother of three, was left shocked after being catcalled by a group of men while she was out with her 12-week-old baby in a sling and her two young daughters in a pushchair. She shared the incident in an Instagram video, captioning it: "Not a good start to the day."
In the clip, Imogen walks down a street with her baby son Hero in a sling around her neck, and her daughters Renaelia, four, and Oriavella, two, in a double pushchair. She described how men in what she believed was a Brighton and Hove City Council bin truck whistled and shouted phrases like "hey mama" and "look at you mama."
Setting an Example for Her Children
Imogen, who has over one million followers on social media, said she told the men off, saying, "No, you don't get to speak to me like that." She explained that she wanted to set an example for her daughters, stating, "We don't accept people speaking to us like that. It's our body and they don't get to make comment and judgement on it." She also added, "We don't want to raise Hero to be like that, do we?"
She admitted the situation was awkward and horrible, especially as it happened at a traffic light with everyone watching. "I never, ever, ever want my daughters to feel like that," she said. "So I'm showing them we don't accept that behaviour by telling the men off."
Council Responds
Commenters encouraged Imogen to report the incident to the council and police. A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesperson said: "We take the concerns raised by this resident very seriously, have contacted them to gather further details, and will ensure the matter is fully investigated. We are committed to ensuring Brighton and Hove is a fair and inclusive city, where discrimination, harassment, and misogyny are not tolerated. While we are proud of the work our staff do to support diversity and inclusion, we will take appropriate action if behaviour falls short of our values and expectations."
New Law Against Catcalling
Catcalling and other forms of 'intentional sex-based public harassment' have been illegal in England and Wales since April 1 this year. Perpetrators can face up to two years in prison. When the law was introduced, then-Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, said: "The sad reality is that many women and girls have been cornered, leered at or shouted at in public, or have faced intimidating threats of violence. Too often they’ve been made to feel like it’s their problem to manage. That is not good enough. Instead of forcing women and girls to change their behaviour, we are going after those who choose to target and intimidate them. These new laws put the focus on perpetrators. If you harass someone in public because of their sex, it will not be tolerated and you can face a criminal record and up to two years behind bars."
