Reports of sexual assault on London Underground increasing at alarming rate

Just because people aren't talking about a problem doesn't mean it's not there. Nor does it mean a problem is new when it suddenly becomes part of a national conversation. Sexual assaults on the London Underground have increased by 42% since 2015. In 2015/2016, 844 sexual assaults were reported, and that number leapt to 1,206 in 2018/19. Assaults were more likely to occur during rush hour, and on the night tube. At first glance, it sounds like London has a horrible epidemic on its hands, but the huge increase might be due to the fact that more people are reporting sexual assault.
Local police and Transport for London (TfL) — the government body responsible for the transport system in the city — launched a campaign called "Report It To Stop It," encouraging victims to report sexual assault. "With the campaign in place since April 2015, we fully expected to record a rise in sexual offences and, though it is clearly a concern that so many people are affected by this type of crime, it is pleasing that previously reluctant victims of sexual offences now have the confidence to report this to us," Detective Inspector David Udomhiaye told The Telegraph.
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TfL is also making more of an attempt to stop assault. According to Siwan Hayward, TfL director of policing, there are 3,000 police and police community support officers in place to halt sexual assault. "This activity includes running regular covert patrols on the tube network with plain-clothed officers, which have been successful in catching offenders and encouraging more people to report offences," Hayward told The Guardian.
CCTV cameras have not only caught criminals, they've also helped to deter sexual assault. The Central line, which doesn't currently have CCTV, saw the most reports of sexual assault, with 1,054 known incidents since 2015.TfL has plans to put CCTV cameras in the Central line by 2023, which will hopefully bring that number down.
Even though more people are coming forward, sexual assault on the London Underground is still under-reported, as is sexual assault in general.It is estimated that 83% of sexual assaults in England and Wales go unreported. America doesn't have a much better track record. The Department of Justice says that 80% of sexual assaults and rapes go unreported in the States. Sexual assault in the U.K. is on the rise, not just in the subways, but again, it is believed that the increase is because more victims are willing to come forward and report what happened to them.
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It's great that transit officials are acknowledging the problem and working to make sure commutes are less dangerous. And hopefully one day, we'll be able to confidently ride the subways without fear. But in the meantime, they need to do more. Andrea Simon, the End Violence Against Women Coalition's head of public affairs told The Guardian: "It's not enough to just encourage the reporting of sexual harassment and assaults. Alongside this we need to be proactively identifying offenders and stopping them."
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."