Shocking statistics from the British Transport Police (BTP) show that 90 percent of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport in London goes unreported. In an effort to change this the BTP have created a video highlighting the issue and encouraging victims to file reports.
The video shows a woman being harassed by a man on the London Underground. He starts by staring at her and his actions grow increasingly more sexual over the course of the journey. Throughout the clip viewers are repeatedly asked, “Would you report it?”
The woman finally runs off the train and is shown reporting the incident by texting the information to 61016.
Video credit: Transport for London/YouTube
“You can report anything of a sexual nature, including rubbing, groping, masturbation, leering, sexual comments, indecent acts, or someone taking photos of you without your consent,” says the campaign’s website. “You don’t have to prove that it was a criminal offence or intentional to report it, we can investigate that for you. No incident is too small or trivial. Our officers are trained to deal with these sort of cases. We will treat you with respect and dignity. You will always be believed and you will always be taken seriously.”
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The campaign seems to be working so far: BTP report that there has been an over 30 percent increase in both the reporting of sexual offences and the number of suspects being caught.
The website offers detailed advice on what information to text to 61016. For example “I was groped by a white male” (what happened) “on the Northern Line between Oval and Kennington” (where it happened) on “Tuesday, April 7 at around 7 p.m.” (where it happened). You can also call 101 to provide the information and you will be contacted by a member of BTP within 24 hours.
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