Women face ‘hotbed of harassment, groping and masturbation’ on public transport

Nearly 200 women shared their stories of being sexually harassed with the online project Screengrab Them

Scores of women have responed to an online project with their own ordeals (PA)

Women are experiencing a “hotbed” of sexual harassment when travelling in London, with girls as young as 15 being groped, an online project has found.

Nearly 200 women have shared their experiences with the initiative Screengrab Them, a social media account set up to document the harassment women face both in public and online.

Zan Moon founded the movement after the murder of Sarah Everard and has presented a dossier of the accounts to the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

One woman told her: “Men repeatedly rub their groin on my body/ hand when on a packed tube. This happens often.”

Have you experienced sexual harassment on public transport? If so email: holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk

Another said: “On my 17th birthday a man exposed himself on the top deck of a TfL bus in Wembley. I was with a friend who was the first to notice he was staring at us and playing with himself.”

“I was sitting on the bus and the guy next to me grabbed my hand and placed it on his penis. He wouldn’t let my hand go. It was difficult to break free. I screamed and no one helped me,” another girl said.

One other said: “I was walking home like 1am from Pinner station back to Northwood. A guy pulled over in his car and asked me if I wanted a lift - I said no and carried on walking.

“He said he was an Uber driver and I just carried on walking ignoring him. I was so happy to get home safe but literally the next day I woke up to news that a girl got raped in Pinner - I realised this could have been me.”

Sarah Everard’s murder prompted calls for more to tackle violence against women (Family Handout/CPS/PA) (PA Media)

From the 180 testimonials in the dossier, 81 percent of women said that people witnessed what happened to them but didn’t intervene.

Ms Moon wrote in her letter to Mr Khan: “It is widely known amongst women that Transport for London has become the ultimate hotbed of harrassment...

“Our journeys are littered with everyday sexism. It should not be the case that women simply expect to be pestered, catcalled, barked at. As I am sure you agree, it is shameful that this behaviour has been normalised on London travel.”

Ms Moon told the Metro: “I asked people to contribute their stories via a Google form but I thought I will have only a few responses. The majority show that harassment is not seen as a priority by TfL staff or the government.”

Her recommendations to the mayor’s office include the constant presence of female police officers on TfL platforms and stations and more undercover police on the Tube at peak hours.

Ms Moon herself has also been the subject of sexual harassment on public transport in London. In January, she was with her girlfriend when they were harassed by a group of men in their 40s on the Tube.

The letter about harassment on London’s transport has been sent to Sadiq Khan (PA Wire)

The men yelled at Ms Moon and her girlfriend and asked them to have sex in front of them to prove they were lesbian.

“I was quite traumatised by the experience, so I contacted British Transport Police but they told me that because the CCTV deletes after 72 hours, there was nothing they could do,” she said.

“That really upset me and angered me. It is such a small window for victims to come forward.”

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan said: “Sadiq is clear that violence and harassment towards women is a deep cultural problem in our society, and we must not simply respond to male violence against women and girls, but prevent it, which is why he continues to take action by funding initiatives to address the behaviour of at-risk offenders to prevent incidents happening.”

A spokesperson for TfL added: “As well as proactive police patrols taking place across public transport, we work with the police to pursue all sexual harassment offences using our extensive network of CCTV and will be continuing to deliver sexual harassment training to all frontline staff.”