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Visible Platform helps to raise the visibility of sexual harassment on public transport | Photo source Dan Roizer on Unsplash
A platform aims to end sexual harassment on public transport
The platform makes it easier to report incidents and access support
Spotted: Visible Platform welcomes visitors to its website with the stark statistic that 90 per cent of women have been harassed on public transport. The co-founders emphasise to every woman wondering if it is worth reporting an incident that every story is important. Every report adds to the collective understanding of the size of the problem. Even if an instance does not qualify as a crime legally, if it made the person receiving the attention uncomfortable, it counts as harassment.
The website is live and collecting stories, and individuals provide as much or as little detail as they like. In addition to the reporting capability, the website includes resources to guide individuals through the reporting process – if that is something they would like to do. This includes advice for witnesses, lists of organisations to call for support, and general information about harassment.
The company plans to work closely with a range of organisations to help end public sexual harassment. As the database of information grows, the team plans to also share their analysis with police forces, including British Transport Police.
Innovators are increasingly turning to technology to shine a light on what has historically been a silently endured endemic of violence against women. A connected smart dress was used in an ad campaign to showcase commonly occurring incidents of harassment of women during a night of clubbing, and blockchain is timestamping reports of workplace harassment to create a private, unalterable digital record.
Written by: Keely Khoury
A 2019 survey of Londoners found that more than half of women had been sexually harassed on public transport and that the incidents occurred most frequently on the Tube. Which is exactly what the Visible Platform founders point to as a reason to put these resources in place while daily use of public transport is lower than pre-pandemic levels. Almost half of those harassed didn’t say anything to anyone about the incident, while only 26 per cent told a friend, family, or partner. So, while not invisible, the problem of public sexual harassment clearly remains vastly underreported, serious, and widespread.
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