Reports of sexual offences on the tube have doubled in past 4 years
By Jocylin Fan Chiang
Transport for London (TFL), the integrated transport authority responsible for delivering Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's strategy on transport, conducted a survey in 2013 on passengers’ safety and the result was shocking. One in every seven women has experienced sexual harassment on public transport in London. However, less than 10% of the victims reported it. Although, in the past couple of years, reporting of sexual offences on London Underground and on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is gradually increasing.
In 2015, TFL launched a campaign called “Report It to Stop it” to tackle sexual harassment and assault on public transport. The campaign aims to encourage women to report unwanted sexual behaviour. Unfortunately, 90% of sexual offences go unreported.
Rises in sexual offences reports
Reports of sexual offences have increased over the years. British Transport Police’s (BTP) crime figures shows that the number of sexual offences on London Underground and DLR rose from 567 in 2014/15 to 1,032 in 2016/17, almost a 50% jump.
For London Overground, the number of sexual offences rose from 45 in 2014/15 to 63 in 2016/17, while there were 850 sexual offences on London's buses in 2016/17 compared with 755 in 2015/16.
While it may seem like the frequency of sexual violence are increasing, it may in fact mean that people are prone to report unwanted sexual behaviours.
What consist of the sexual offences?
24% involved offences classed as ‘committing an act of outraging public decency’ and 12% involved ‘exposure’. BTP’s 2015 report warns that sexual violence is more likely to occur at peak commuting hours at high passenger footfall stations, during the morning hours (8-9am) and evening hours (6-7pm). Between January 2014 and December 2015, there were 322 sexual assaults reported on the London Underground during the evening hours, along with 291 during the morning hours. The numbers were compared to 110 between 11pm and 1am.
