Street harassment ‘relentless’ and fast food ‘flood’

Harassment ‘normalised’

Getty Images A woman gestures with a halting gesture to a man who places his hand on her shoulder in the street

From public transport and universities through to bars, clubs, online spaces or just going for a run, women and girls are facing “relentless” sexual harassment, a new report has said. And despite government promises to eliminate such behaviour altogether by 2030, the Women and Equalities Committee concludes there’s “no evidence of any programme to achieve this”.

The committee – a cross-party group of MPs – has carried out a nine-month inquiry into the topic. It argues that constant street harassment becomes “normalised” for girls growing up – often when in school uniform – and they feel “the onus is put on them to avoid ‘risky’ situations”, which “keeps women and girls unequal”.

The committee sets out seven steps to take. Among them, forcing train and bus operators and pub landlords to take tougher action against sexual harassment on their premises. It also calls for a public information campaign designed to change attitudes, akin to road safety campaigns.

Fast food ‘flood’

Councils have introduced various initiatives to limit the opening of new takeaways, for example around schools, but the Local Government Association says they need more powers to tackle the “clustering” of outlets already open. The government is consulting on whether to introduce mandatory calorie labelling for takeaway menus, but industry representatives say that would just push up costs, and small firms “need support” to become healthier instead.

Missing smears

How the ‘thin-fat’ epidemic swept the world

By Dr Sophie Hawkesworth & Dr Lindsay Keir, Wellcome

Obesity is often portrayed as a Western problem, with under-nutrition found in poorer countries. But the truth is more complex. Nine out of 10 countries are in the grip of a health epidemic known as the “double burden” – where overweight and undernourished people live side-by-side. A worldwide explosion in the availability of unhealthy foods, a shift towards office jobs and the growth of transport and television are among the many causes. Often, this double burden occurs not only within a community, but also within the same family.

What the papers say

Guardian, Daily Mail Guardian and Daily Mail front pages for 23/10/18

Theresa May’s Brexit statement to the Commons on Monday is widely covered, but for many, it didn’t take us much further forward. The Guardian says the fundamentals – that the EU will not agree to her Chequers plan and the PM lacks the numbers in her party to deliver it anyway – remain as true now as before. The Daily Telegraph says the option of extending the transition period does not seem to have placated her MPs. The Financial Times, though, sees little evidence that the bulk of Tory MPs are yet prepared to withdraw their backing for her. But the Daily Mail is angry. “Enough is enough,” it declares, describing the plotters as “peacocking saboteurs dragging their party and country towards the abyss”. Elsewhere, the Daily Express leads with a call to Mrs May to abandon plans to investigate unsolved killings in Northern Ireland and other military conflicts going back many decades. The paper’s political commentator, Stephen Pollard, describes the plans as a witch hunt.