“If you can recognize the problem for your daughter, you can educate your son”

A report from 2023 done by Forward show’s that 8 out of 10 women in London from the age of 16 to 34 have experienced harassment or sexual assault in public spaces. The report states that the two most common locations for sexual harassment or assault is the street or public transport. During September this year there were 337 reports to the Metropolitan police of violence or sexual offences in the center of London. 

Almost 80% of women in London are worried that they will get sexually assaulted or harassed when they leave the house. For many years sexual harassment has been portrayed as women’s problem. Young girls and women are told by society to be careful when they walk around at night and to dress appropriately. Organisations like HASSL stress the importance of focusing more on the root of the problem and not just safety tips for women.

Rachel have restricted her life 

Rachel Marie Whitmore is 20 years old and has lived all her life in a town called Farnham outside of London. Around three times a week she takes the train into London to go to work, and on weekends to socialize. One day, after work she was going to her friend’s birthday party and dressed up for the occasion. 

“Going to the birthday party after work was a completely different traveling experience than when I am in my work clothes” says Rachel. She explains how her way of dressing has changed over the years, as she has become more aware of her vulnerabilities as a woman. Now she wears a long-oversized coat and considers her outfit more carefully. “When I was 17, I was a completely different girl and had completely different behaviors than I do now” she explains.

Rachel has stopped drinking alcohol when she is out in London.

“It just makes it to difficult, with all the situations it puts me in, in terms of people getting to handsy and getting home at night catching the last train.”  

HASSL – Born out of female rage 

Amy Watson is the founder of the organization HASSL that stands for Harassment Awareness & Safe Space Leaders. It’s a global organisation started in London in October 2024, working to tackle the core of the problem. HASSL want to invite the men into the conversation about women’s safety to educate and spread awareness around the topic. They offer free education for men through their website and on social media. The organisation has developed a five-stage plan to reaching their goal, of changing the patriarchal system and help women to feel safe.

Amy was inspired to start the organization after one of her friends was harassed and followed home by a man on the tube.

Amy says, “My friend documented everything in a video where she got a close-up shot of his face while he confirmed that he was following her. Still, she didn’t get any help when she tried to report him. That’s when I felt like enough is enough and started HASSL.” 

There is more at stake in a smaller city 

Rachel believes sexual harassment is a bigger issue in London then in her hometown, because it’s easier in London. There are more people and a very slim chance that you will meet someone you know.

“It’s much more at risk for the catcallers in my hometown because everyone knows each other.” 

With London being one of the biggest cities in Europe it’s easy to become one of the masses. Experiencing seeing someone being harassed in public may be shocking and disturbing the first time, but when you see it for the third time in a week, it’s common to be desensitized and not pay as much attention. Rachel says that harassment in public is not something she typically talks about with her friends. 

“Everybody knows it’s happening, and I think a lot of women do things to prevent being harassed without thinking about it” 

Bystanders need to take action 

When Rachel was touched inappropriately on the tube platform, one of the things that surprised her was that no one was helping her. She tried to catch people’s gazes to get help. 

“It feels like people in London are living in their own bubble and are just grateful that it’s not them who are being harassed” says Rachel  

Numbers from Forward shows that 56% of women who have experienced harassment in London did not get any help form bystanders.

On the 13th of October this year TfL (Trafic for London) released a new campaign to encourage people on the transport network to be active bystanders and act like a friend to the victims.

“Everyone has the right to be safe and feel safe while they travel on our services, and we have a strong police and enforcement presence on our services and in our stations to prevent crime. Sadly, there are still some instances of people being targeted and we know that it can feel hard to know what to do when we see this happen to someone else” states Siwan Hayward, TfL’s director of Security Policing Enforcement in a press release form TfL about the new campaign.

Start the education form early on 

Rachel thinks it’s important that men are educated about how to treat women from an early age. “It does start with the parents”.

She believes that a lot of mothers and fathers worry about their daughters when they go out.

“If you can recognize the problem for your daughter, you can also educate your son.” Rachel says.

She thinks that education and conversations start too late, after the incident has already happened.

Adolescence – a conversation starter 

In March this year, the series Adolescence was released on Netflix. The series is about a 13-year-old boy living in northern England who gets arrested for murdering a female classmate. It’s a psychological and confronting series that brings up the topic about VAWG (Vilonce Against Women and Girls) and how social media and the internet can make vulnerable and young boys believe and do the most horrible things. Adolescence won eight Emmys and started a conversation worldwide. The co-writer, co-creator and lead actor of the series Stephen Graham says in an interview with Netflix that his intention with the series was to create conversation between parents and children.

“I think one of the reasons why it’s been so powerful is that it’s starting conversations, but it doesn’t give any answers. And we never say we could.”

The Mayor’s 'Violence Against Women and Girls' Strategy 

Sadiq Kahn has been the Mayor of London since 2016. In 2022 he started a program called The Mayor’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2022-25.

London Assembly states 

“The refreshed VAWG Strategy sets out Sadiq’s long-term ambition to eradicate VAWG in London, and for every woman and girl to be able to participate fully in life in our city without experiencing or fearing harassment, abuse or violence from men.” 

A part of the strategy is to give a new education toolkit to recognize and tackle sexist and misogynistic behavior. The mayor has invested 1 million pounds into the toolkit. This strategy builds on the #HaveAWord campaign which urges men and boys in particular to play their part.

The toolkit involves information and numbers on gender-based violence, violence at home, stalking and sexual violence and harassment in London and the UK. It also includes eight activities for students to have in school and ho the teacher should prepare them. 

Prospects

Rachel believes that young men and boys know more about sexual harassment than the older generation, but she also thinks it’s important to educate on the younger generation on social media and how it can be harmful.

Amy has experienced a lot of young men reaching out and asking questions about VAWG and saying thank you for creating a space to ask questions and get educated on how they can help.