Request ID: FOI-2323-2324 Date published: 31 October 2023
You asked
what research have you done on the extent of sexual harassment on London Transport? If you have done research, please could you publish it.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-2323-2324
Thank you for your request received on 4 October 2023 asking for information about research done into sexual harassment on London transport.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
We conduct surveys with customers on our network to assess safety and security. A module within the survey was dedicated to unwanted sexual behaviour. There were two ways in which a respondent could answer this module:
1. Any respondents that indicated that they had experienced witnessing a crime on public transport were asked if this crime was unwanted sexual behaviour targeted at others 2. Any respondent that stated that they had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour at the “any worrying incident” or “most worrying incident” questions were asked if it was targeted at them personally or someone else (i.e. they were a witness).
The survey results show levels are at a very low rate, less than 5%. The proportion experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour has slowly declined since Q1 22/23 and remain as low as pre-pandemic. Similarly, the proportion of Londoners witnessing unwanted sexual behaviour are also lower than Q1 22/23 and remain as low as pre-pandemic. Due to the low base sizes within this survey module very limited analysis has been possible; this is recorded internally in our Safety and Security tracker but as these questions form only a small part of the survey we do not intend to publish this information.
We do publish some information on our website that may be of interest to you:
We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime on London Underground or rail modes to report it to the British Transport Police by texting 61016, or via the free Railway Guardian App. Customers can also report incidents to members of staff. Customers can report an incident on the bus network at www.met.police.uk or by calling 101. We make a substantial investment in front line policing to help improve safety on our services. We have been funding dedicated policing on rail, tube and bus services in London over a long period, and our relationship with the police is such that we work closely to deliver shared objectives such as tackling violence and hate crime, often deploying jointly to locations and times which are higher risk for offences. We invest more than £100 million a year in policing, which helps to fund over 2,500 officers across all modes. It also means there is significant investigative capability when offences do take place. In addition to this policing investment we also have over 500 TfL operations officers with enforcement powers, and they all receive hate crime training. Our operations officers are uniformed and will act if they ever witness unacceptable behaviour, targeting offenders and supporting victims.
The safety of all passengers is an absolute priority for us, especially women’s safety. Any crime on our services is unacceptable and no one should feel distressed when travelling on our network by the behaviour of others. We know that by intervening, bystanders can make a huge impact on the experience of someone being targeted and can help ensure they are safe and supported. This is why we have launched bystander campaigns focusing on women’s safety and hate crime. These bystander campaigns contain core messaging designed to show how anyone can be an active bystander against misogyny and hate crime if they ever witness someone being targeted. The key message is how to intervene safely in order to protect someone being targeted without placing yourself at risk. Please be assured that we are acting on every complaint and learning from every incident to help us improve how we tackle all forms of violence against women and girls on our network.
We use a range of research conducted by other organisations to inform our approach to safety and security. Regarding women’s safety this research includes, but is not limited to;
