A lesbian couple has spoken out about their harrowing experience of sexual harassment on the London Underground. Zan Moon, a charity worker, recounted the distressing incident during
which a man made homophobic and sexually explicit comments while reportedly “licking his fingers”.
The 26-year-old man allegedly yelled crude things and demanded that the couple perform sexual acts, making their journey incredibly uncomfortable and humiliating. Despite the couple’s distress, other passengers on the train did nothing to intervene or offer support.
Moon has since petitioned London mayor Sadiq Khan to address the growing problem of harassment on the London Underground. According to data, sexual offence reports to the British Transport Police rose by 38% during 2022, making the London Underground one of the most dangerous train lines for harassment.
Last year, at least 2,300 crimes were reported to local police forces, many of which involved upskirting, harassment, and sexual assault. However, it’s suspected that the true number of incidents is much higher, considering the number of cases that go unreported.
One anonymous victim of sexual assault, who went by the name Anna, recounted her experience of being continually objectified during a trip on the Jubilee line in February 2022. The man in question wouldn’t leave her alone and repeatedly expressed his desire to take her home and “do things to her”.
One of the main issues with addressing sexual harassment on the London Underground is the lack of CCTV cameras on trains. This means that most crimes go unreported, and even when they are reported, they often go unsolved.
Research conducted in 2022 showed that anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime reports in the UK rose sharply by 32%, the largest yearly increase since record-keeping began. According to data from the British Transport Police, a third of sexual offences reported on UK train lines occurred on the Underground, and two in five crimes occurred on Transport for London services.
A spokesperson for TfL stated that the organisation was committed to tackling sexual harassment and that campaigns against hate crimes and harassment were currently in place on TfL lines. However, it’s clear that more needs to be done to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all passengers who use the London Underground. Photo by tompagenet (Tom Page), Wikimedia commons.