A new poster campaign is launching in London highlighting various forms of unwanted sexual behaviour that can take place on public transport, sending a message that sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
Sexual harassment is a form of violence, most often directed against women and girls in public places and the campaign is one element of TfL’s work to ensure everyone can travel with confidence.
The behaviours are being highlighted by the campaign:
- Cat Calling – Making unsolicited remarks of a sexual nature about someone
- Exposing – Revealing intimate body parts
- Cyber-flashing – Sending or showing sexual content without consent
- Pressing – Rubbing against someone on purpose
- Touching- Touching someone inappropriately
- Staring – Intrusive staring of a sexual nature
- Upskirting – Taking photos under someone’s clothing
By raising awareness of these issues, TfL says that it hopes to encourage Londoners to look out for and support each other, and to engage bystanders to speak up so that perpetrators can be held accountable for their actions.
Sexual harassment does not only affect those who are directly targeted – it can affect how safe all women and girls feel when travelling. A Centre for London survey from 2019 found that women were nearly twice as likely as men to mention personal safety as a barrier to walking and using public transport. Research also shows that nearly half of those who experience sexual harassment do not tell anyone.
The campaign encourages customers and staff who experience or witness harassing behaviour to report it.
Other measures to keep everyone safe on the network include more than 2,500 police and police community support officers and 500 TfL enforcement officers patrolling the network.
I’d like to believe that this would help but, if some pervert gets his kicks from any of these behaviours he will continue to do so until caught and arrested.
“Staring – Intrusive staring of a sexual nature”
Does it mean enthusiasts won’t be able to take video (from their smartphone or camera) of trains entering/exiting the station and innocently taking video of journeys inside the train?
The filming and photography page on TfL website states:
“Private photographers travelling through the station
We get many requests from tourists, train enthusiasts, budding photographers and customers ‘passing through’ a station who may want to take photographs for their own personal use. We agree that this is acceptable, at the station’s discretion, as long as additional camera equipment (including flash and tripods) is not used.”
“Also, people filming or taking photographs for their own purposes on TfL’s network are responsible for ensuring they comply with the requirements of privacy and data protection legislation.”
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/filming-and-photography/filming-and-photography-on-tfl
The ICO page on GDPR exemption states:
“This exemption can apply if you process personal data for:
journalistic purposes;
academic purposes;
artistic purposes; or
literary purposes.
Together, these are known as the ‘special purposes’.”
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/exemptions/#ex16
If you think about it, it’s pretty obvious that there’s a difference between filming a train and sitting in a train leering at a woman.
It actually worried me that such an obvious thing even need clarifying.
You really needed to have it clarified, the difference between filming trains and staring at women…?
I’ve always had my suspicions about some Enthusiasts…! No wonder they get a bad name..
Will signage help? I don’t know but I certainly welcome it. Had a finger laid on my crotch under my skirt Qing at gates in Kings x about 25 years ago. Turned around and 2 drunk ****wits laughed beerily in my face. Still wish I’d slammed their heads together. There, that’s my #metoo moment out in the open for the first time. Sorry if it upset you.
Doubt if many can even read what it say.