Reports of sexual assault on London Underground increasing at alarming rate

Heidi Lux
09.24.19
Photo by Joseph Balzano on Unsplash

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.

RELATED: 'I felt ill': Brendan Fraser describes sexual assault that nearly made him quit acting

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.

RELATED: Emma Watson launches hotline that provides women legal advice on workplace sexual harassment

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."

sexual assault public transit london
popular

This adorable Twitter thread captures a woman's surprise reunion with her foster dog

There's nothing like a good reunion story to get you misty in the ol' tear ducts. Kate Howard, the managing editor of Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, shared a story of randomly running into the dog she used to foster on Twitter. You know all those dog reunion movies? The ones with names like A Dog's Hope and A Dog's Sloppy Kiss? The ones that make you cry buckets no matter how hard you think your heart is? Well, this is that, but in real life.

Keep Reading Show less
pets dogs foster dogs
popular

America's mayors look to bypass Trump and take part in the UN climate change conference

via Wikimedia Commons

The great thing about American democracy is the separation of powers. The federal government has rights, states have rights, counties have rights, cities have rights, and we, as people, have rights, too.

Heck, even animals have some rights in the good ol' U S of A.

The president of the United States is not a king or a dictator so a team of U.S. mayors, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, are asking to go over his head to negotiate directly at next month's UN climate change conference in Santiago, Chile.

Keep Reading Show less
eric garcetti america's mayors paris climate agreement un climate conference america's cities un climate conference
popular

James Van Der Beek's pregnancy announcement casually helps destigmatize miscarriages

Instagram / James Van Der Beek

About one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage, although it is believed the number might be higher because many miscarriages occur before the woman knows she is pregnant. Miscarriage is actually quite common, yet many people who've had one feel alone, partly because there's still a taboo around talking about it. In order to reduce the stigma surrounding the loss, James Van Der Beek opened up about the struggles him and his wife, Kimberly, experienced.

The Van Der Beeks, who have been married since 2010, have five children and one on the way. In a pre-taped segment on "Dancing with the Stars," Van Der Beek announced that his family will be welcoming a new baby. But the segment gave us a more personal look as Van Der Beek revealed they've experienced three miscarriages as well. "We've had five kids and three miscarriages," Van Der Beek told his dance partner, Emma Slater. "Miscarriage is something that people don't really talk about, and we wanted to recognize that it happens to people. We wanted to destigmatize that as much as we possibly could."

Keep Reading Show less
popular
Capital One
Capital One

A grandmother wanted to give her grandchildren the life they deserved. This building has made it possible.

Courtesy of Capital One

It was around Christmas 2018 and Jean Simpkins, 79, was looking out the window of her new three-bedroom apartment. Eleven floors above Washington, D.C., the grandmother of two gazed out at the lights of the city and became overwhelmed with gratitude. "The only thing I could say," Simpkins remembers, "was 'Thank you, Father.'"

Almost a year later, Simpkins still can't help but look at the apartment as a miracle — one she desperately needed. Fifteen years ago, when her grandson was born, she became his primary caregiver. Six years later, when her granddaughter was four, Simpkins was awarded full custody of her, too. She's spent the time since trying to give her grandchildren the life she knows they deserve, which has been difficult on a fixed income. On top of that, Simpkins worried that the neighborhood the family resided in wasn't the best influence on her kids. Something had to change.

Then she learned about Plaza West, a new development created by Mission First housing that would reserve 50 of its apartments specifically for families in which a grandparent or other older adult was raising children who were related to them. The waiting list, Simpkins says, was daunting. There are a great deal of grandfamilies in the D.C. area and she was sure it might be years before she got the call. But soon after applying, she was offered a choice between a two-bedroom and a three-bedroom apartment. She accepted the latter, sight unseen. She knew that each of her grandchildren needed space of their own.

Keep Reading Show less
Future Edge
True
Capital One