The Gender-Based Public Harassment Checklist (GBPH-C): Development and Initial Evidence of Validity

Gender-based public harassment (GBPH) encompasses a wide variety of behaviors (e.g. commenting, touching, following) enacted by strangers in public places and is likely motivated by targets’ perceived gender, sexual orientation, and/or gender expression. Previous research has suggested that rates of GBPH in the United States (US) are elevated among women; those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or of other marginalized genders/sexual orientations (LGBTQ+); and/or people of color (POC). Attempts to estimate the prevalence and effects of GBPH have been limited, however, as few efforts have been made to validate a measure of the construct and to ensure that item content fully reflects the experiences of different marginalized groups. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a new measure of GBPH that was inclusive of the forms of harassment experienced by those who are LGBTQ+ and/or POC in the US. Analyses of data from a scoping review and five samples of participants (N = 1,511 total) produced a 31-item measure that assessed sexist, cisheterosexist, and gendered racist forms of harassment. Scores on the measure exhibited a high degree of internal and temporal response consistency. Additionally, evidence was found for the content, construct, and criterion validity of the measure.