Two in five London women sexually harassed in the last year

Two in every five women in London have experienced sexual harassment in public places in the last year, a survey revealed.

According to the YouGov poll, 41 per cent of women aged 18 to 34 had encountered sexual comments, staring or exposure and wolf-whistling.

It said that 31 per cent of women aged 18 to 24 received unwanted sexual attention in public transport.  14 per cent of women of all ages said they encountered unwanted sexual attention, while one in 20 experienced unwanted sexual touching.

The research was compiled by the End Violence Against Women Coalition, who have expressed concerns over the impact of such harassment on the everyday lives of these women.

The Coalition said 45,000 incidents of domestic violence and 3,000 rapes were reported to police in London last year. They expressed concerns over the lack of research into the scale of this problem in the UK.

The Coalition has sent its findings to Transport for London and urged the body to begin a campaign making the public aware that sexual harassment can be a crime and is unacceptable. They also called for more training for police and transport staff to deal with sexual harassment.

Poorna Rodrigo