TfL offers bystander awareness training over abuse

Courses on how to react to harassment on the transport network are being offered by Transport for London (TfL) as part of their efforts to encourage people to be "active bystanders".

TfL said Londoners had told them they wanted to intervene safely when they see harassment, which can include cat-calling, cyber-flashing and inappropriate touching.

The three-hour training sessions will take place online in March and April and aim to "empower customers to act if they witness any form of harassment on the public transport network".

The transport authority has been running a series of poster campaigns for several years to encourage witnesses of sexual harassment to step in and "defuse" incidents.

The sessions are being delivered by Protection Approaches, a national charity working to prevent all forms of identity-based violence.

Last year, TfL said an increase in reported sexual offences on public transport across the capital was "a positive sign" that more people were alerting the authorities when it happens.

London's deputy mayor for transport, Seb Dance, said: "Everyone should be able to use public transport without fear of abuse and TfL has a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime.

"Londoners have told us that they want to be able to intervene safely if they witness a hate crime, and having the right knowledge can make all the difference."

Siwan Hayward, TfL's director of security policing enforcement, said the sessions would support the "existing training as provided by TfL".

"We continue to work with policing partners to ensure a safe, accessible and equitable network for all," she added.

The transport authority still urging people to report offences either to the Metropolitan Police if the incident happened on London buses, or the British Transport Police if it occurred on the Tube, DLR, Trams, London Overground, IFS Cable Car and the rail network in London.

TfL said: "We know from our research that it's common for people to think that what they have seen or experienced isn't 'serious enough' to warrant them seeking help or reporting, so we want to reassure people that this is not the case.

"If it's made you feel uncomfortable, it's all serious to us."

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