Do you know what it is like to sit in a Tube carriage, headphones in, scrolling through social media while a man rubs his groin near you?
This is just one example of what it is like to travel in London if you are a woman or are femme-presenting.
Incidents of sexual harassment and violence on public transport are common and on the rise, but are often being ignored by bystanders.
This is why a new ad campaign is encouraging people to ‘safely intervene’ if they witness such incidents on public transport.
Posters have appeared across the Transport for London network asking them to help victims by defusing the situation and offering support.
Zan Moon has been working with TfL, British Transport Police (BTP), Metropolitan Police and City of London Police on the campaign unveiled today.
After Metro.co.uk highlighted all the testimonies of sexual harassment she had gathered in 2022, she was invited to share her findings with authorities.
Zan said: ‘Out of the victims’ testimonies I gathered, some 81% said they were harassed in a crowded carriage, but no one intervened.
‘So, we focused on bystander intervention. With this campaign, I did a lot of work around the wording on the posters and specifically, on what they needed to focus on.
‘I am happy with the end result, particularly the poster focusing on documenting an incident. I think it is one of the most important things.
‘For now, documenting an incident as a bystander is one of the most important things to focus on.
‘This is so we can build a bank of evidence and hopefully end the problem, which is still rife.’
Ways bystanders can help, but only if they feel safe to
Make a distraction
Bystanders can help defuse an incident by asking the victim a question, such as ‘What’s the next stop?’, or ‘Do you have the time?’
Make a note
If you see sexual harassment happening, documenting and reporting it can help build a profile of the perpetrator and help TfL and the police stop it from happening again.
Make sure they are okay
After an incident of sexual harassment, the offer of support can help the person targeted feel less isolated and more confident in reporting it.
Check in with them and ask ‘Are you OK?’, or let them know that ‘What happened isn’t okay.’
But Zan stressed she would like to see ‘more practical changes, not just a media campaign and posters’.
This includes installing CCTV on the Central Line and the Bakerloo Line, keeping footage for longer than 72 hours, and having more female police officers present on public transport.
Zan said: ‘Unfortunately, the CCTV problem on public transport has not been fixed yet, and it does not look like it will to be fixed in the foreseeable future.
‘Currently, all footage deletes after 72 hours. This is such a small window for women to come forward. This is not good enough.
‘Those are the things that are going to help the prosecution rates up, and that is ultimately one of the most important things.
‘I also want to see wifi on the Underground. If you are advising us to text 61016, we need to have a signal to do that.
‘They are pushing the Railway Guardian app, which is amazing and people should download it, but if you are on the tube, you cannot access it because you do not have wifi.
‘Simple things like this – little technological changes – can make a real difference.’
Figures show the number of reports of sexual harassment BTP has received was nearly three times higher during the 2021/22 financial year than the previous 12 months.
This is attributed to ‘an increased willingness to report’ after ‘prominent posters and messaging’ across the public transport network.
TfL, which is running the bystander campaign, is encouraging people to recognise the signs of sexual harassment and ‘safely intervene’.
But the organisation insisted it is ‘not asking customers to police the network’.
It said sexual harassment is most often directed against women and girls, and can include rubbing, groping, leering, sexual comments, and photographing or filming someone without consent.
According to the posters, witnesses could make a distraction by asking the person being targeted a simple question such as ‘What’s the next stop?’ or ‘Do you have the time?’.
They are encouraged to make a note of and report what they saw to help police identify the perpetrator.
BTP said ‘everyone has a part to play in driving out this unacceptable behaviour’.
Nia Mellor, BTP’s detective chief inspector, said: ‘We are dedicated to ensuring every woman and girl can travel on the railway network without fear of harassment.
‘Everyone has a part to play in driving out this unacceptable behaviour, and small actions such as offering someone your seat if you notice them looking uncomfortable, or reporting an incident to us can make an enormous difference.
‘Your reports provide us with crucial information which helps us build a picture of what is happening on the network so we can identify crime hotspots, deploy patrols to catch offenders, and crucially bring them to justice.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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