Sexual Harassment

We know that sexual harassment can have a real impact on those who experience it or fear it. We know it can affect how safe and confident you feel.

We are working with our rail industry partners nationwide to make sure that you can travel safely and free from any kind of harassment. Most people using and working on the railways will not experience sexual harassment. But if you do, tell us so we can act.

It takes courage to report sexual harassment and anything that has made you feel uncomfortable is worth reporting. We will always take you seriously. No incident is considered small or trivial. Our officers are trained to deal with all sorts of cases.

We are committed to making sure victims and survivors of sexual harassment receive a consistent and supportive service regardless of where they are in the country or when they report what has happened to them.  

We understand that if you experience unwanted sexual behaviour, you might want to forget about it and move on. However, reporting can help us stop it from happening again.

Tell us what happened, where and when. Include any details that might help us identify the person.

Including your exact location in your first message can help us get officers to you as quickly as possible.

You don’t have to include your name or any identifying details in your text.

Example report:

Groped by slim-build, tall white man wearing a red tie on-board Northern line tube travelling Northbound between Oval and Kennington on Monday 19 February at 8:45 am.

You might wonder what counts as sexual harassment. See it or experience it, you can report any behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable. For example, you can report it if someone:

• touches or gropes you
• rubs themselves against you
• masturbates in front of you
• exposes themselves
• sends you sexual images without your permission
• takes photos of you
• is watching explicit content in public
• makes sexual comments, sounds or gestures
• stares at you
• follows you

You can also report witnessing any of the above behaviours. You don't have to prove that it was a criminal offence or an intentional act to report it: we will investigate that for you.

Our contact handlers monitor reports and calls 24/7, whether you report by text 61016, Railway Guardian, online or by calling 0800 40 50 40.

If necessary, we will alert nearby officers and send them to help you. In some cases, officers may meet the train at the next station.  If this is the case, we might ask you specific questions to help with the initial police response. We may ask you to send an image of the person you are contacting us about.

In other cases, we will log your report and may contact you for more information later. 

Giving a statement

After you’ve made a report, we may ask you to make a formal statement. You don’t have to, but it can help us catch the offender and prevent others from experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour.

You don’t have to go to a police station - we can visit you where you feel most comfortable. If you’re an adult, you don’t have to tell anyone - but you can bring someone with you if you like. If you’re under 18, you’ll need a guardian with you.

How we might try to find the offender

We will do everything in our power to bring the offender to justice.

We use your reports to make sure our officers are in the right place at the right time. We combat sexual offences by establishing patterns and using both plain clothes and uniformed police officers. For example, plain clothes officers patrol areas where we have received multiple reports.  

If we arrest the offender

If we find and arrest the offender, we will investigate further and might ask you some more questions.

A decision will then be made about whether the person should be charged.

Going to court

Once someone has been charged, they will have to appear in court. If the offender pleads not guilty, there will be a hearing.

Whatever happens, we will support you through the criminal justice process.

Hear from someone who reported a sexual offence to British Transport Police about her experience of reporting, the police investigation and going to court. 

Her story:

In my case, I was on the tube and realised that a man was fondling the front of his trousers. He then put his fingers up his bottom in front of me. I told him that it was disgusting and fortunately he wandered off.

I didn’t report it straight away because I didn’t know quite how to process it and I wasn’t sure who to report it to.

A colleague of mine encouraged me to report it to British Transport Police. However, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I was worried that I’d be wasting their time as the man didn’t attack me or touch me.

What he did was just really unpleasant and nasty. I thought that if I reported I’d be patted on the head and fobbed off and then nothing would come from it. I also had doubts in my mind because of stories I’d read about police officers harming women and the poor experiences that some people have had with the police.

However, I decided to report and I am glad I did. I was genuinely really grateful for the support I got from British Transport Police.

They took my statement and were very reassuring. I never felt that I was wasting their time. They told me what steps they would take and how they would investigate. As I was able to tell them what train I was on, they managed to find CCTV of the incident.

I didn’t hear anything for a few months and I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere.

However, they then got in contact to tell me that they’d identified a suspect and made an arrest. This meant the case was going to court.

I appreciate it if people don’t want to come forward because it is stressful giving evidence in court. I am a lawyer and I was surprised how nervous I was.

Lots of people think it’s ‘just’ a flasher and don’t want to take that step, but you never know if someone is going to escalate and I decided that going through the court process is the only way that you can try to stop these people.

Throughout the court process, a police officer kept me informed about what was going on and made sure I didn’t feel abandoned. Two police officers came to court to give evidence including the officer who took my original statement.

Overall, I was taken seriously, I was kept informed, and the case was investigated. The man was found guilty and I never felt anything other than supported and that’s all you can really ask for.

Academics are working with the police to improve the ways in which the police engage with victims of rape and other sexual offences. Part of this research aims to understand people's experiences of reporting sexual violence. If you are over 18, a victim of violence or sexual assault and your case has been investigated by police in the UK, you are invited to take this anonymous online survey:

https://cityunilondon.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4GikU2bi38jO0MS

This questionnaire is part of a larger study on sexual violence policing involving a number of different universities and police forces, and is funded by the Home Office. This questionnaire is hosted by City, University of London.