An undercover investigation into the safety of women on London's public transport network revealed alarming instances of harassment and assault, even during daylight hours. The journalist, Mimi Yates, described bone-chilling encounters where men followed her, touched her, and ignored her pleas to stop.
During a 40-minute journey on the Piccadilly Line around 2 a.m., a man twice the journalist's age sat next to her and persisted in trying to engage her in conversation. She left the train before her stop, only for him to follow her onto another train, the Jubilee Line. He continued his advances, staring and licking his lips, before Yates eventually managed to lose him at North Greenwich station.
Later, at Green Park station, another man approached Yates, inviting her to sit next to him. He persistently asked for her phone number, making threatening remarks about finding her if she did not comply. Despite her repeated refusals, he followed her onto the same train carriage. Yates recounts him stroking her thigh and her responding, "Please don't touch me." A couple in the carriage witnessed the interaction but did not intervene.
Over two months, Yates conducted her investigation, traveling on seven Tube lines at various times of day and night. She documented eight instances of verbal sexual harassment and one physical assault across four journeys. Yates noted that she dressed conservatively and concealed recording equipment for safety, emphasizing she was not seeking attention.
In one instance, a group of young men stared at her on an eastbound District Line train. They disembarked when she did at Dagenham East and walked ahead of her, periodically looking back. They dispersed only after she turned back towards the station platform.
Another incident involved a man who stood too close, his hand brushing against a pole near her leg, as he repeatedly demanded her number. He rolled his eyes when she asked, "What are you scared of?" and gestured to an intoxicated woman in the carriage, remarking, "Look at her."
Yates described the experience as relentless, leaving her exhausted and in a state of "fight or flight." The burden, she felt, was on her to remain calm and polite enough to de-escalate without encouraging the behavior.
The investigation's findings echo a March report from the London Assembly, which described "unacceptable" levels of violence against women and girls on the capital's public transport. In 2025, 4,593 sex-based offenses against women and girls were recorded, with only about 3 percent resulting in charges or summonses. Many cases identified no suspect.
Recent cases highlight ongoing issues. In May, Salman Yousaf was jailed for eight sexual assaults and one count of outraging public decency on the Night Tube, targeting sleeping women. Craig Anderson was jailed in March for sexually assaulting four women and stalking another, with prosecutors noting he "did not take no for an answer."
When Yates reported the physical assault she experienced to the British Transport Police (BTP) text service 61016, she was informed that CCTV footage might have expired. An officer later suggested the line she was on "doesn't really have CCTV on it, anyway." A BBC investigation revealed that hundreds of cases fail due to issues with CCTV on public transport, including footage not being recorded, system faults, or overwriting.
British Transport Police are responsible for investigating offenses, while Transport for London (TfL) and rail operators maintain CCTV systems with varying retention periods. There is no legal requirement for working CCTV on passenger trains, meaning evidence can be lost.
Some of London's oldest Tube lines lack adequate CCTV coverage in carriages, as the trains are unable to support the necessary technology. This gap between official advice and the reality of reporting incidents contributes to a "big lack of trust in the reporting process," according to Susan Leadbetter, a transport design expert.
Leadbetter noted that many women choose not to report incidents due to how they are handled, with some detailing harrowing experiences of groping, being ejaculated on, followed, and stared at.
Camille Brown, 22, has launched a petition advocating for women-only carriages, a proposal supported by a majority in a YouGov poll. She observed that negative experiences on the Tube were routine for schoolgirls.
Leadbetter, however, suggests focusing on immediate improvements: visible staff, functional cameras, reliable mobile signals, and better-lit stations. She emphasized that design alone cannot solve bad behavior, which often escalates from lower-level harassment when perpetrators face no consequences.
The murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021, by a serving police officer, forced a national conversation about women's safety. In a landmark moment for campaigners, David Stroud was sentenced in June under new sex-based harassment legislation on railways for grabbing a woman's hair and trying to kiss her, an act he described as "banter."
Esme Rice, who experienced a sexual assault on the Elizabeth Line, expressed frustration with the reporting process, noting it took 13 hours for BTP to call her back after she texted 61016 within minutes of the assault. She had previously reported a man masturbating over her on the Jubilee Line, but the case was closed due to lack of identification, despite CCTV and her photos.
Rice stated that "unwanted touching, unwanted interactions... no is, no. It's that simple," emphasizing that the severity of an act does not negate its impact.
A TfL spokesperson stated that they are working with police to make the network hostile to offenders and are committed to improving CCTV coverage and data retention. BTP urged passengers to report incidents to 61016, noting an increase in reporting confidence for historically underreported crimes like sexual offending.