North East Mayor Kim McGuinness says women shouldn’t have to plan journeys around safety after new data revealed violent attacks against women on Britain’s trains had doubled in just two years.
The number of violent crimes rose from 7,561 in 2021 to 11,357 in 2023, with sexual offences jumping 10 per cent over the same period.
The data - published in the British Transport Police's (BTP) annual report for 2024 - also noted a spike in sexual harassment reports, which doubled to 1,908.
The shocking statistics come just one year after a separate BTP survey found more than a third of women have been victims of sexual harassment or sexual offences while travelling by train or tube.
Crime data shows that sexual offences occur during the evening rush hour, between 5pm and 7pm, when trains are packed and busy.
Unacceptable behaviour such as leering, catcalling, touching, pressing, upskirting or indecent exposure is being experienced by women more than ever.
The survey also found 51 per cent of victims said that other passengers had tried to help them.
However, only one in five people who have witnessed incidents of sexual harassment reported it to police.
BTP said the increase in such offences was because victims were more willing to report them because of “efforts across the network”.
'It should not feel like taking your life into your hands'
Ms McGuinness promised to take action to “make travel in the North East the safest anywhere with new gate-lines and staffing”.
She announced that she will soon be asking what people want to see, saying: “We all deserve to move around free from fear.”
Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen said: “This is appalling, and I hope the full weight of the law is brought down on those convicted.”
Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, said violence against women and girls “must be tackled” - branding the report as “horrific”.
“Labour is committed to treating VAWG as the national emergency that it is,” she said.
Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, described the situation as “unacceptable”, telling PA that “no woman should have to plan her journeys by public transport based on where and when she will feel safe”.
She said: “Getting on a night bus or near empty train to go home should not feel like taking your life into your hands.
“Whether these figures reflect an increase in reporting, an increase in the volume of crime, or a combination of the two, one thing is clear, the level of violence, harassment and sexual offences that women and girls are facing when using the transport network is completely unacceptable, and cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.”
Experiences 'sadly a reality for many women'
The force has now launched a Railway Guardian app, which allows people to report crimes anonymously, and the 61016 text service for the reporting of incidents.
Louise Haigh, Secretary of State for Transport, said public owned railways would be “”relentlessly held to account on safety and standards”.
Meanwhile, head of crime and public protection at the BTP T/Detective Chief Superintendent Sarah White said tackling sexual offences “is a priority”.
The force said in its report that it continued to “prioritise tackling violence against women and girls”.
On trains, the rail industry and BTP are rolling out a new, ongoing anti-sexual harassment campaign in a bid to educate passengers on how to recognise and intervene in situations.
Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of Rail Delivery Group said: “Experiences of sexual harassment are sadly a reality for many women, but as an industry our message is clear, any form of sexual harassment on the rail network is completely unacceptable and we are working with the British Transport Police to confront this problem.
“The latest data shows that harassment doesn’t just happen out of sight. As bystanders we can help to confront this problem by reporting incidents or making safe interventions.
"Our campaign to tackle sexual harassment on trains was created with BTP to highlight the different forms of sexual harassment and help people to think about simple actions they can take without putting themselves in harm’s way.
“We are committed to making everyone feel safe on the railway and want people to feel confident to report anything that makes them uncomfortable by texting 61016 or using the Railway Guardian app.”
BTP Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Furnell last year asked people to watch out and stand up for each other while catching the train or tube.
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“I’ll guarantee that most of us have told our daughters, mums, or friends to be careful on their way home when they’re travelling alone late at night – perhaps to share their journeys and stick to well-lit areas,” he said.
“But we know that sexual harassment and offending can take place at any hour of the day, and our figures show that it’s most likely to happen at the busiest hours when carriages are most full.
“If we see something that isn’t right, doing something about it, whether that’s intervening, if you feel safe to do so, or reporting it to police.”
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