15 March 2023 , 11:45
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Sex crime victims preyed upon on Britain’s trains have spoken out on their horrifying experiences as figures show a rise in reports.
Figures obtained by The Mirror show British Transport Police saw sex offence reports climb by 38% in 2022, with more than 2,300 crimes logged across the country’s rail network – up from 1,668 the year before.
Most of these were assaults, the figures show, although the data reveals a growing number of upskirting and other voyeuristic crimes.
The real extent of predators on Britain’s rail network is likely to be much bigger, with sexual violence charities saying most go unreported while harassment is still not seen as a crime.
Zan Moon lobbied London Mayor Sadiq Khan after she and her girlfriend were victims of homophobic sexual harassment on the Tube last year.
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Activist Zan Moon has lobbied Sadiq Khan for tougher measures to prevent sex crimes on trains (Zan Moon)
Zan and her partner were subjected to a vile tirade of sexual harassment (Zan Moon)The 26-year-old was subjected to a vile tirade of abuse from a man on the Northern line in February last year.
“This guy was yelling extremely crude things, asking us to perform sexual things, licking his fingers. It was horrible and went on for a long time during the journey,” she told The Mirror.
“People just looked at their phones or laughed and did nothing. It was humiliating.”
Ms Moon, a London-based charity worker, is not alone. London Underground remains by far the worst train line when it comes to reported sex offences, BTP data shows.
A third of all sex offences reported over the last two years were on the Tube alone, while more than two in five crimes took place on TfL services.
The London Underground was by far the worst for sexual offences, accounting for around a third of all crimes reported (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Anna, not her real name, was assaulted and harassed on the Jubilee line in February 2022 by a man who grabbed her bum and made disgusting sexual comments about her body.
“Once the seat next to me was free, he parked himself there and was saying how my ‘t**s and arse look amazing’,” she said.
“He kept saying how he ‘wanted to take me home and do things to me’.”
Despite the shocking crimes, many of London’s underground trains do not have permanent CCTV, meaning even if victims report the crimes, there is very little police can do.
Until last year, CCTV on the Tube was deleted after 72 hours, although thanks to Zan’s campaigning this has since been changed to 21 days.
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Some lines have trains which are unmonitored while one line's carriages still do not have any CCTV and had the worst number of sex crimes reported of any Tube line.
Transport for London (TfL) has said it was “committed to tackling sexual harassment” and that they were currently running campaigns warning perpetrators and encouraging bystanders to step in.
Zan has pushed for CCTV in all Tube carriages to protect victims (Zan Moon)The BTP figures also showed that the majority of crimes occurred on trains, highlighting the need for more CCTV and on-board safety measures.
Rosie, not her real name, was assaulted on a train to Manchester in November 2022 while travelling to meet a friend at the city's Christmas market.
The 24-year-old marketing assistant from Leeds noticed a man appeared to be taking a picture of her on his phone, before he approached her and assaulted her in a nearly empty carriage.
“I could tell by the way he was holding up his phone, then I realised I could see in the window reflection that his camera was open," she said.
“I was horrified and felt sick – like a real rush of adrenaline. I wanted to get up and move but was scared he’d follow me and I’d make the situation worse.”
When the man tried to ask Rosie for her number, she said she felt increasingly scared for her safety.
“I told him I wasn’t interested but he just sat there and wouldn’t leave me alone – then he tried to touch me. Luckily he was sitting opposite me so I was able to get up and run. I actually ended up just sitting in the train toilet for the rest of the journey, which was disgusting but the safest option at the time.”
Det Supt Sarah White, from BTP, said the force actually “welcomed” the rise in figures, as it simply means more victims were reporting.
“There’s absolutely no place for sexual offending or harassment on the rail network, and stamping out this unacceptable behaviour is our top priority at British Transport Police,” she said.
“Day and night, we have targeted patrols of uniformed and specially trained plain clothed officers on trains and at stations, who are there to identify and deter offenders and reassure passengers as they travel.
“We know sexual offences have historically always been under reported, and in recent years we have made a concentrated effort to increase awareness of the types of offences which won’t be tolerated and to encourage victims to report them to us so we are able to take action.
“So while every report of a sexual offence is one too many, we welcome the increase in reports over the last few years as it tells us more victims are having the confidence to tell us what’s happened to them and we’re able to bring more of these offenders to justice as a result."