“If you act up, I’ll follow you.”
These are the chilling words of a man in a now-viral video in response to being asked to stop harassing a woman at a train station in the UK.
It is no secret that women are not guaranteed safety anywhere. From shopping malls to work, and even somewhere as often frequented as public transport, women are almost always vulnerable to harassment. Women are riddled with fear of sexual harassment by men everywhere they go. They are vulnerable in those places in which they expect some kind of protection in the form of security guards or employees. The harsh reality is that the safety of women is not ensured and has not been since the beginning of time.
This phenomenon of harassment on public transport came to the forefront of media debate in late October. In a video shared on social media, a man is shown walking over train tracks and climbing onto the platform to approach a woman at a UK train station. The man ignores repeated requests to leave her alone,
“Back the f*ck up. You just jumped across the tracks to come and talk to me? Stay away from me, bro.”
Despite that, he creepily continues to follow her as she attempts to move away from him. He then asks her to chat to which she says,
“I don’t wanna chat to you, I don’t know you from anywhere.”
As she tries to leave the train station, he is seen blocking her. He proceeds to threaten her in an attempt to make her stay,
“Let me say my part then. It’s only a few sentences. Before I take your phone off you. Let me take your phone.”
The woman uploaded this video shortly after, writing that after shouting for help, a woman helped her and advised her to “run.” She also added that the man who harassed her was unfazed by her yelling out for help.
This incident has evidently prompted public outrage regarding the pandemic which is gender-based violence (GBV). More specifically, this incident has highlighted what women have known for years; that sexual harassment can occur to anyone. Sexual harassment can occur to those who do not confront perpetrators, but it can also occur to those who decide to confront them. According to Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, one common myth regarding sexual harassment is “if she didn’t scream, try to run away or fight back” then it was not sexual harassment. Those who subscribe to the above rape myth believe that for a situation to have constituted harassment, women must put up some sort of fight. That is exactly what the woman in this case did. The victim in the viral video directly confronted the man who was harassing her, yet he did not regard his behaviour as sexual harassment, stating that he just wanted to ‘chat.’ The incident highlights that how women react to being harassed, whether that be by confronting the perpetrator or ignoring the situation in hopes of being left alone, does not make them blame-worthy. It does not mean that they contributed to their own victimisation.
Evidently, women’s reactions and behaviours aren’t the issue in our society, the perpetrators are. One study showed that “there is no fully efficacious strategy for coping with sexual harassment and that women’s beliefs about the negative consequences and reactions deter many women from confronting the harasser.”
The video has rightfully prompted public outrage across multiple social media platforms. Users are flooding comment sections and posts with demands for increased safety measures at train stations. Women across the globe are advocating for serious measures to be taken to mitigate issues of sexual harassment on public transport. This is because we all know all too well that this is not a situation unique to this incident. International online research data and analytics company YouGov revealed that 97% of women have had similar experiences on public transport.
Technological advances in recent years have led to easier and quicker access to public transport, meaning that public transport is now almost fully self-operated, with little need for security, employees or ticket officers. We now see fewer visible staff members at train stations in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, harassment has become increasingly common in these locations. This highlights the need for increased security and safety measures on the part of public transport bodies globally. There is a need for more security at all hours of the day, especially those hours when train stations are not as busy, as women are at an increased risk of harassment at the hands of perpetrators. Women Mobalize Women recommends that a series of complaint mechanisms should also be put into place and advertised at every station and train so that victims of sexual harassment can call for help.
The popularity of the video has now prompted the British Transport Police to investigate the sexual harassment incident and they are asking anyone with information to contact 61016 via text or call 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 168 of 22/10/23.
It is important that we continue to advocate for change in society to reduce gender-based violence and ensure that women are protected in those spaces in which they expect to be guaranteed safety.