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The harrowing experiences of women who are harassed on public transport on a daily basis have been revealed in a damning report.
Violent attacks on women have more than doubled in the past two years, and more than a third of women have been victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault while commuting by train or tube, according to data from the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA). The figures also show a rise in crimes against women and girls from 7,561 in 2021 to 11,357 in 2023.
In conversation with The IndependentThree women reported harassment and assault by men on public transport over the past two years.
Amelia, a 24-year-old tech consultant from London, was attacked on the subway at around 10pm as she was on her way home from a social work event.
“There was one seat left in the carriage and unfortunately there was a rather unkempt man sitting there, surrounded by beer bottles,” she said. “I sat next to him because I didn’t want to be judgemental, and he was sleeping. Suddenly he grabbed me, put me in a headlock and pulled me to his chest.”
“I managed to pull myself away and luckily two guys in their twenties across the street told me I could sit between them for the rest of the trip – the man just went back to sleep.”
Bea, a 24-year-old experienced copywriter, described an intimidating incident involving a group of male football fans in London.
“I was coming back from a long day at work and wanted to get on the train at Tottenham Court Road station. There were loads of football fans there. I managed to squeeze in, but it was packed.
“Suddenly a guy started tapping me on the shoulder to talk to me. I got the classic responses of ‘Smile at us’ and ‘I think we could have incredible kids.’ This was said by a man in his mid-30s.
“Of course I told him to fuck off, but he kept trying to get my attention and no one else told him to stop until they all got off at the next stop.”
After everyone got off the train, she was approached by a few women, but Bea said she was now even more nervous about using public transportation.
“Now when I see a large group of men and I’m alone, I stay as far away as possible, but if that’s not possible, I just hope for the best,” she said.
Although most attacks occurred during the evening rush hour, when trains are at their busiest, the new data shows that women face harassment at any time of the day.
Isabella, 25, was on her way to work one morning when she had an unpleasant encounter with an older man.
“I was just finishing my makeup when this guy sat across from me on the right,” she said. “He was pretty old and just stared at me for what seemed like forever.”
“Then he got up to get off the subway, it was busy, and he just threw me this piece of paper and said to me, ‘Well done, I noticed you today,’ and on the piece of paper was his name and number. It was embarrassing because the subway was full and everyone else was watching.”
Andrea Simon, executive director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said while it was encouraging to see BTP offering victims new opportunities to report anonymously, there needed to be concrete consequences for perpetrators.
“Solutions such as women-only compartments will never work because they do not address the root of the problem: male entitlement, power and control,” she said. “Instead, we should address men’s attitudes and behaviors through education and by encouraging bystander intervention.”
She stressed that public campaigns and high-quality education about relationships and sexuality in schools are necessary to ultimately “change attitudes that trivialise or tolerate male violence”.
Paul Furnell, BTP Assistant Chief Constable, said: “We know that these crimes often go unreported, which is why we continue to campaign tirelessly to encourage victims and witnesses to report these behaviours and crimes to us.”
“We assume that the number of reports will continue to rise.”
