[ad_1]
What is sad is that experience of female Face every day Harassment In public transportation The problems have been exposed after a damning report came to light.
Violent attacks against women have more than doubled in the past two years, with more than a third of women having been sexually harassed or assaulted while commuting on a train or subway. data Depend on British Transport Police The data also showed that crimes against women and girls surged from 7,561 in 2021 to 11,357 in 2023.
Working with The IndependentIn a new report, three women describe the common incidents of harassment and assault they have experienced from men on public transport over the past two years.
Amelia, a 24-year-old technology consultant living in London, was attacked on the Tube as she was returning home from a work social event at around 10pm.
“There was only one seat left in the carriage and unfortunately, a dishevelled man was sitting next to him and he was surrounded by beer bottles,” she said. “I sat next to him because I didn’t want to be discriminated against and he was asleep. Suddenly, he grabbed me, put me in a headlock and pulled me against his chest.
“I managed to free myself and thankfully two 20-something guys sitting opposite me said I could sit between them for the rest of the journey – only for the man to fall asleep again.”
Bea, a 24-year-old senior copywriter, recounted an incident of intimidation involving a group of male football fans in London.
“I came home from a long day at work and headed to Tottenham Court Road station to catch the train, but it was already packed with fans – I managed to squeeze in but the car was already full.
“Suddenly, a man started tapping me on the shoulder and trying to talk to me. I heard the classic ‘give us a smile’ and ‘I think we could have great kids’ – coming from a man in his 30s.
“Needless to say, I told him to ‘get lost’ but he continued to try to get my attention and no one told him to stop until they all got off at the next stop.”
After everyone got off the train, several women approached her, but Bea said it made her more nervous about taking public transportation.
“Now, if I see a large group of men and I’m alone, I try to stay away from them, but if I can’t, I just pray for the best,” she said.
While most attacks occur during the evening rush hour when trains are most crowded, new data shows women face harassment at any time of the day.
One morning, 25-year-old Isabella had an unpleasant encounter with an older man on her way to work.
“I had just finished putting on my makeup when I noticed a man sitting to my right,” she said. “He was very old and he stared at me for a long time.”
“Then he got up and got off the subway, and it was crowded, and he just threw me this piece of paper and said ‘well done, you got my attention today’, and it had his name and phone number on it. It was awkward because the subway was packed and other people were looking.”
Andrea Simon, executive director of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said that while it was encouraging to see BTP offering new ways for victims to report anonymously, there still needed to be real penalties for perpetrators.
“Solutions such as women-only carriages will never work because they don’t get to the root of the problem: male entitlement, power and control,” she said. “Instead, we should be addressing male attitudes and behaviours through education and encouraging bystander intervention.”
She stressed the need for public awareness campaigns and high-quality education in schools on relationships and sex education, which would ultimately “change attitudes that trivialize or tolerate male violence.”
BTP Assistant Chief Superintendent Paul Furnell said: “We know these crimes are often underreported so we continually encourage victims and witnesses to report these behaviours and crimes to us.
“We expect the number of reports to continue to rise.”
[ad_2]
Source link
