London TravelWatch welcomes move to criminalise public sexual harassment
We’re pleased to see that our calls to criminalise Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) has been backed by the government.
This comes after we submitted a detailed response to a Home Office consultation on criminalising public sexual harassment, alongside our campaign work with Plan International UK and Our Streets.
When responding to the consultation, we highlighted that 71% of women – across all ages in the UK - have experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public space.
We also relayed how in qualitative research that we carried out around personal security, virtually every woman we spoke to had experienced sexual harassment on public transport.
The impact of sexual harassment and fear of repeat incidents is significant. For those who told us they felt unsafe when travelling in London, over 70% stopped travelling at certain times of the day.
Those who work irregular hours, shifts or night workers on low incomes are less likely to have a choice about whether they travel at night on public transport or not.
Our research also showed 45% of women didn’t think reporting public sexual harassment would help. They said they felt it was neither easy nor straightforward to report incidents that took place on public transport. Clearly, there is more scope to improve in this area to help tackle public sexual harassment, wherever it takes place.
Joanna Davidson, CEO for London TravelWatch, said:
We don’t believe that women should feel they have to choose ‘safer’ options such as travelling earlier in the day or evening – it should be safe to travel by public transport at all times. Everyone has the right to travel safely, free from abuse or harassment.
“We welcome the news that the government backs making sexual harassment a criminal offence. It's a positive step in the right direction but more needs to be done. We will continue to play a constructive role to help shape the final policy.
Read more about our work around personal security and womens' safety.