Amsterdam cracks down on street-level sexual harassment

Amsterdam is looking into making all types of sexual harassment, including things like hissing, spitting and name calling, punishable. Currently the law only has options to punish some forms of sexual harassment, like stalking and groping. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan told the municipal council on Thursday that he sees possibilities in punishing all forms of harassment and he promised to consult with the Public Prosecutor and police on the feasibility of the proposal. "This kind of behavior is contrary to the core values of our society. And it also happens very often", he said, according to broadcaster NOS. "The question is whether making it punishable will work in practice, because it is difficult to prove because there are often no witnesses." The Mayor does believe that more punishments will lead to more sexual harassment victims pressing charges. This proposal comes from the VVD, whose been advocating for punishing all forms of sexual harassment since 2009.