Request ID: FOI-2863-2122 Date published: 08 April 2022
You asked
I am looking to find out the number of sexual assault made against staff and the public on the Underground and bus service.
I would like the range to be from February 2020 to February 2022. Can the information be per month and be separated by incidents against staff and the public across both services.
Thanks
We answered
Our ref: FOI-2863-2122/GH Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 15 March 2022 asking for information about sexual assaults on London Underground and buses. Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. We continue to work hard to create a culture on public transport and across the capital where sexual harassment is eradicated, and that’s why we are emphasising the importance of reporting any behaviour that makes our customers or staff feel uncomfortable. We recently launched our ‘zero tolerance to sexual harassment’ campaign, in partnership with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and the Police. This campaign speaks directly to offenders and calls out behaviour such as staring, unsolicited comments and remarks, and cat calling as sexual harassment. The campaign including posters and leaflets contain important information about how to report both for those who experience it, but also for bystanders. To achieve a change in the culture around sexual harassment, it’s important that bystanders recognise that they can also have an impact, that these behaviours are sexual harassment and are unacceptable, and that they can also report them. The campaign is one part of a programme of activity to stop sexual harassment on the network. We work closely with our police partners to make the transport network a hostile place for all forms of male violence, and make travelling safe, and feel safe for women and girls. Plain clothes and uniformed police and TfL enforcement officers patrol the network to identify and take action against offenders. We know that sexual harassment and unwanted sexual behaviour is chronically under-reported – for too long such behaviour has just been accepted. Therefore any change in figures reported to the Police could be indicative of a greater confidence to report rather than the issue getting worse. We encourage every incident to be reported, as it helps build a picture to inform our prevention and policing activity and means perpetrators are held to account for their behaviour. We use a range of methods including CCTV footage and ticketing data to identify perpetrators and see that they are caught and convicted. The attached document shows the number of incidents reported to the police. The figures presented include all recorded sexual offences, as defined by the counting rules adhered to by the Police Forces, including those defined as exposure or voyeurism. The Metropolitan Police performance data (bus related offences) supplied to TfL does not specify whether the victims were staff or passengers, and therefore we are unable to provide separate numbers for offences on buses.
Please note, we also publish regular bulletins of crime and incident statistics which provide a summary of crime and antisocial behaviour on our services. See https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/crime-and-incident-bulletins If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal. Yours sincerely Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
