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Meeting Focus: Safer public transport for women.

The impact of men’s harmful behaviour on public transport towards women, the opportunities that exist for the transport sector and commitments they made on White Ribbon Day 2022, and responsibilities of Government to achieve culture change.

Summary briefing: Women’s everyday experience of harassment in public spaces prevents them living the lives they want to lead. A report by the APPG for UN Women UK published in March 2021 found that 71% of women of all ages in the UK have experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public space. This number rises to 86% among 18-24 year olds and only 3% of 18-24 year olds reported having not experienced any of the types of harassment listed in the survey.

Within the overall context of harassment in public spaces, safety on public transport is a specific issue for women. It is an environment where men may behave in harassing and abusive ways. A 2022 ONS survey found that 58% of women aged 16 to 34 years reported feeling ‘very or fairly unsafe’ using public transport alone after dark. These figures highlights the pervasiveness of women’s fear on public transport and in public spaces.

Women’s lives are constrained by the fear of violence and the reality of violence, and the mitigating actions they need to take to feel and stay safe. Reports and anecdotal evidence of women’s experiences clearly demonstrate that harmful male behaviours lead to a lack of safety for women and that these are normalised in society. Public transport is one area where such behaviours and their impact can be clearly seen. This needs to change.

Research indicates that men who adhere more strongly to rigid and restrictive ideas of masculinity are more likely to perpetrate violence against women. Whilst most men do not believe themselves to be ‘violent’, violence occurs on a continuum. When we allow harassment and misogynistic behaviours, they become normalised, and we create a culture that enables men to commit violence and abuse against women.

We need to focus on the prevention of such cultures manifesting in the first place to stop these attitudes from impacting the lives of women and girls. This meeting considered how the root causes of harmful and dominant masculine norms can be addressed in relation to public transport.

Meeting focus: Building gender equality with young people to end violence against women and girls.

Summary briefing: School and education are integral parts of a young person’s life, however, girls in these settings are experiencing sexist behaviour and harassment.

The meeting concluded that it is incredibly important that we engage with men and boys to end violence against women and girls, especially at school. The need for a substantial societal change surrounding the safety of women and girls was discussed and the Government’s responsibility to lead this change.

The July meeting in Westminster considered how the root causes of harmful and dominant masculine norms can be addressed in relation to education and schools. The meeting was attended by experts in the Ending Violence Against Women Sector, a leading researcher on masculinity and violence and a football association. We brought together MPs from different political parties.

Research overwhelmingly shows that harassment happens far too frequently and that almost a third of girls don’t feel safe from sexual harassment in school, with 80% of girls thinking that schools need to do more to tackle it (EVAW). UN Women also released a report in March 2021, in which only 3% of 18–24-year-olds had said they weren’t being harassed (UN Women).

The introduction of RSHE (relationships, sex and health education) into the curriculum has helped to start a discussion about what healthy relationships look like, but it could do far more in addressing harmful gender norms and preventing violence against women and girls.

Meeting focus: The Istanbul Convention: preventing violence against women and girls, one year on.

Summary briefing: Research overwhelmingly shows that women and girls experience sexism and misogyny in almost all parts of their lives:

Nearly 1 in 4 girls in mixed sex schools have had experiences of unwanted sexual touching in school. (EVAW)

6 in 10 women have felt harassed in the gym by a man. (The Gym-timidation Report)

3 in 5 young women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. (Trade Unions Congress)

1.7 million women experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022. (ONS)

The October meeting considered whether the UK Government is doing enough to prevent violence against women and girls, particularly following the UK’s implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

The meeting was attended by experts in the ending violence against women sector, including a leading researcher and professor, and expert charities that engage with men and boys to end violence against women and girls. The meeting was attended by MPs from across the political spectrum.

The meeting concluded that the UK Government must do more to prevent violence against women and girls. There was consensus that effective campaigns have been launched to engage men and boys, but that these campaigns must be supported by specialist programmes being delivered in education settings, workplaces and community spaces, and be invested in by Government.