Rise in reports of violence against women on transport

British Transport Police (BTP) cover the railways of England, Wales and Scotland as well as the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and IFS cloud cable car.

The figures, published in the annual report of the British Transport Police Authority show 11,357 violent crimes against women and girls were recorded in the year to 31 March 2024. That was up a fifth from the total for the year before, 9,464.

In 2021/22, when passenger numbers were lower due to Covid, the figure stood at 7,561.

Passenger numbers have been recovering since the pandemic. The Office of Rail and Road says, external rail passenger numbers rose by 16% between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

The British Transport Police Authority’s report also says the number of crimes involving sexual harassment in the past year was 1,908, which was a small decrease on the previous year (2,040).

The number of sexual assault crimes being recorded increased, from 2,246 last year to 2,475 in the year to March.

In May, BTP also revealed that reported sexual offences against and sexual harassment of young women and girls had jumped by a third on London’s transport network.

It suggested most offences took place during the evening rush hour, on busy trains.