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Viral video prompts renewed calls for safety measures on public transport

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London, UK
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Following a series of recent incidents that involve women being targeted and harassed while trying to get home, social media users are demanding more intervention from staff at stations.

β€˜If you act up, I’ll follow you.’

These are the distressing words of a man in a viral video which made the rounds on social media this weekend. Late at night, he had climbed across train tracks to harass the woman filming, despite her repeatedly asking him to leave her alone.

It was later disclosed that she had to exit the underground due to a lack of police and TFL staff presence during the incident, in addition to no intervention from onlookers.

β€˜This man is displaying high potential of being a sexual offender, and this video as much as it’s hard to say looks like the prelude to a stranger/murder or r*pe scenario,’ wrote an X user.

@screenshothq NO MEANS NO Women should NOT have to fear being alone at night. Yasmine posted this video to TikTok to raise awareness after she tried to politely decline this man’s advancements but he then became aggressive towards her. The British Transport Police and the Police are now looking into this incident and encouraging public transport users to use their contact numbers in the case of an incident. #brucegrove #tfl #btp #transportforlondon #londontravels #londontravelling #tottenham ♬ drowning (slowed + reverb) – Vague003

β€˜That’s why it’s so upsetting to watch because we ALL know what this looks like.’

Prompting widespread calls for improved safety measures on public transport, it comes on the back of a recent Office for National Statistics survey which found that half of women aged 16 to 34 had experienced at least one form of harassment.

Especially prevalent in stations, 58 per cent of participants also claimed to feel unsafe using public transport after dark and the number of assaults on railways has doubled since 2015.

This is according to YouGov, which revealed that 97 per cent of women have experienced unwanted sexual advances on tubes and buses, while only 4 per cent of crimes are reported.

In recent years, the closure of ticket offices across the London transport network has resulted in a reduced number of visible staff members at train stations.

As stated by Transport for London’s latest crime report, concern of being the victim of unwanted sexual behaviour is more common on the underground, with females experiencing more worry than men.

Of those who participated, 33 per cent said they had experienced a worrying incident on London’s public transport services.

Eight per cent of those involved being a victim of sexual behaviour while another eight per cent had suffered from a lack of police or staff present.

The Mayor of London and the British Transport Police have committed to addressing these concerns, emphasising a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment.

Their efforts include enhanced patrols and leveraging CCTV footage to identify offenders, with the collective goal to ensure the safety and wellbeing of women and girls across the capital, regardless of the time of day or location.

β€˜No one should have to put up with this sort of behaviour on the rail network and we take all reports of a sexual harassment very seriously,’ a representative for the British Transport Police said in a statement.

β€˜There is absolutely no place for sexual harassment or sexual offences on the railway network and we are working tirelessly to stamp out this unacceptable behaviour.’

Feature Media Manager & Senior Writer London, UK

Sofia (She/Her) – I’m the Deputy Editor & Media Partnership Manager at Thred, specialising in exclusive articles and live interviews, fashion and beauty with a focus on sustainability, women’s rights, psychedelics, and Latin America. I studied Spanish at the University of Exeter and International Journalism at City, London. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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