Children as young as 11 have spoken out about being sexually harassed on buses and trains, with one 16-year-old girl telling the BBC that she was “disgusted” after receiving catcalls and sexual comments while using public transport. Harrogate Youth Council is campaigning for more children in North Yorkshire to report similar incidents, with a focus on enhancing CCTV on buses and trains as well as in stations. Despite calls for greater protection, the issue pervades. “Even in your school uniform, you have people catcalling you,” said Lulu, a 16-year-old who chairs the Harrogate Youth Council. “Young people don’t want to report these things because it’s just an everyday thing.”
The campaign has also highlighted the importance of bystanders in tackling sexual harassment, calling on them to safely intervene, even as simply as asking the targeted person whether they’re okay. Det Ch Insp Nia Mellor from British Transport Police has welcomed the campaign, noting that high-visibility and plain-clothes officers are working together to create a “hostile environment” for perpetrators on trains. This is in spite of some concerns among women’s groups that a new law, which makes sexual harassment in public a criminal offence carrying a maximum prison sentence of two years, is unlikely to be enforced.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones commended the campaign, saying he hoped that the Chief Constable of British Transport Police would take the youth council’s ideas forward. Brando, a 15-year-old member of Harrogate Youth Council and also of the UK Youth Parliament, has heard stories from his female classmates about being victims of sexual harassment, noting that such occurrences include groping, “It’s disgusting that people in this day and age do these things to children,” he said. “We want bystanders to be more aware and report more things instead of just watching it happen.”
All children who have borne the brunt of harassment on public transport hope this campaign will lead to greater safety during their daily journeys on buses and trains. They find themselves contending with continuous, everyday harassment and believe that there should be more awareness and reporting about the issue. With issues as complex as the sexual harassment of children on public transport, progress can be achieved by developing a more collaborative approach that includes people from every walk of life
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More