Marburg sets signs against Catcalling: posters and day of action on June 13th!

Marburg sets signs against Catcalling: posters and day of action on June 13th!

In the city of Marburg, an action day against Catcalling will take place on June 13, 2025. This initiative is supported by a repetition of the #Stopcatcalling poster campaign, which will be visible in various public places from May 26 to June 15, 2025. Catcalling, which is classified as a verbal sexualized harassment, is to be brought into social awareness. The posters, designed by Hannah Baumann as part of the “Insight - Marburg against Violence” project, ask to actively switch on and offer help. The central slogan of the campaign is: "Talk to me at #eye level".

The municipal women's and equality office Marburg-Biedenkopf describes Catcalling as a social problem that particularly affects women and trans people. Janet Miller, head of the office, emphasizes that many people in the Marburg-Biedenkopf region have already had experience with this form of harassment. Interested citizens are therefore asked to report their own experiences anonymously by email to #keinkompliment@marburg-biedenkopf.de.

act instead of looking away

The planned action on June 13 states that Catcalls in the places where they took place to make them visible with chalk. This is intended to draw attention to the perpetrators and their discriminatory behavior. The perpetrators can encourage stuff of Catcalling by addressing them directly and the words "No compliment!" indicate. In addition, the district calls for sharing its own experiences in order to increase the visibility of the problem. Reports on incidents should contain information about the type of attack as well as the location, date and time.

As part of the campaign, there are also valuable support offers for those affected. The offer includes the women's emergency call Marburg as well as self -assertion courses by Wendo Marburg and the wild cats. Information on these help offers is available on the website of the city of Marburg: www.marburg.de/geCatcalling .

social relevance

In a survey carried out from April to June 2021, about 95 % of the women surveyed stated that they had experiences with Catcalling. The results of this survey show that Catcalling is widespread and is perceived as a social problem. Over 78 % of the participants see the need for government regulation. Public perception is clear: Catcalling is regarded as an injustice that is worthy of punishment and needs legal support to create a safe environment for everyone.

The current legal framework does not fully record Catcalling, which is already regulated differently in other countries such as Portugal or Belgium. Experts therefore call for the introduction of a special fact in sex criminal law. So far, the current legal situation requires physical touch for criminal liability, which excludes purely verbal harassment. This leads to an intensive discussion about possible solutions and the legal punishment of verbally sexual harassment.