Request ID: FOI-1071-2425 Date published: 29 July 2024
You asked
Please provide any and all reports produced by TfL on the efficiency and ethics of its sexual harassment advertising campaigns, particularly relating to how it has contributed towards improving issues of sexual assault and harassment on TFL services.
Please provide any reports produced between 1 October 2021 and the present date, or most recently available.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1071-2425
Thank you for your request received on 2 July 2024 asking for information about our sexual harassment awareness campaigns.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. You asked:
Please provide any and all reports produced by TfL on the efficiency and ethics of its sexual harassment advertising campaigns, particularly relating to how it has contributed towards improving issues of sexual assault and harassment on TFL services.
Please provide any reports produced between 1 October 2021 and the present date, or most recently available.
We take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse on our network, and we are working hard to ensure our customers and staff are safe, feel safe and have the confidence to report any incident knowing that it will be taken seriously and investigated. Tackling sexual harassment and improving customers’ confidence to travel is a priority for us and we are committed to playing our full part in delivering the Mayor’s strategy to end violence against women and girls (VAWG).
In the period requested, there are no published reports on the efficiency or ethics of TfL’s sexual harassment advertising campaigns. However, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety and security of Londoners and tackle sexual harassment on our network and therefore ensuring an ethical approach to our communications and engagement is a core part of our strategy.
Our current sexual harassment advertising campaign launched in October 2021 and was developed in coordination with a national campaign produced by Rail Delivery Group (RDG). RDG undertook extensive research during the early stages of campaign development and consulted with a wide variety of women’s safety organisations, sexual violence support organisations, community groups, transport, and policing partners. We continue to engage with these stakeholders, as well as other public organisations including the Mayor’s Office, policing partners and the Department for Transport to help shape policy and communications.
A second phase of the campaign launched in January 2023 to encourage safe bystander intervention to anyone who witnesses sexual harassment.
Based on our latest campaign tracker, March 2024, 52 per cent of all Londoners strongly agreed they would report sexual harassment if it happened to themselves and 47 per cent strongly agreed they would report if it happened to someone else.
In addition, our advertising is showing positive increases of bystander intervention. The proportion of Londoners agreeing that they have all the information they need to confidently intervene in an incident of sexual harassment on public transport rose from 53 per cent to 59 per cent between October 2022 (the first time it was measured) and March 2024. Over the same time, the proportion disagreeing fell from 24 per cent to just 14 per cent. This represents a positive increase as changing reporting behaviours is challenging to shift. As well as this, 15 per cent of campaign recognisers claimed they have already reported or intervened as a result of seeing our advertising.
We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of our sexual harassment advertising, and as it stands, we are on track to achieve long term targets in improving customer reporting and having all the information they need to safely intervene.
The sexual harassment campaign also contributes to an overarching metric that we care about our customers, with 40 per cent of Londoners strongly agreeing that advertising makes them feel we care about our customers, March 2024.
The campaign is positively supporting an increase in reporting. Between October 2021 to September 2022, there were 2,361 offences on our network reported to the police. This compares to 1,302 reported in the same period the year before, an 81 per cent increase – though due to the low passenger numbers during COVID this 81 per cent increase is heavily inflated. After the launch of the bystander campaign there were 2,671 sexual offences on our network reported to the police between February 2023 to January 2024. This compares to 2,418 offences in the same period the year before, a 10.5 per cent increase. The increase in reporting was anticipated after both campaign launches and is a positive sign that the campaign is working given that sexual harassment is significantly underreported. Tracking research has not indicated any significant increase in incidents on the network, therefore the increase in number of reports is a positive sign that the campaign is helping to raise awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment and our zero tolerance approach to any form of abuse on our network.
Our advertising campaigns are only one part of our expansive programme to eliminate sexual harassment on public transport. Examples of key activities include an in-school education programme to year 9 students, women’s safety audits in town centres in five boroughs, rolling out sexual harassment training to all front-line staff and enforcement officers, rolling out crime reporting signage across the network as well as organisational changes including becoming a White Ribbon accredited organisation to foster a positive and safe organisational culture.
The VAWG programme builds on a strong foundation of safety and security measures that includes over 2,000 police and police community support officers, 500 TfL enforcement officers an extensive CCTV network and 24/7 control centre.
If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal. Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
