Transport for London (TfL) is funding hundreds of free Active Bystander Awareness sessions to December 2, aimed at all Londoners and requiring no previous knowledge. A three-hour course, morning or afternoon, is led by the identity-based violence prevention charity Protection Approaches, as developed with the Britain’s East and Southeast Asian Network.
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Director of Security, Policing and Enforcement, said: “Over the last year we’ve seen an abhorrent increase in hate crimes directed at Jewish and Muslim communities which must be stopped. We are determined to eradicate hate crime in all its forms from London’s transport network.
“During National Hate Crime Awareness Week, we are encouraging Londoners to become active bystanders by funding hundreds of places on Active Bystander training sessions with Protection Approaches. These sessions have already empowered hundreds of Londoners to speak up and support one another to prevent abuse or harassment. I would really encourage Londoners who are keen to find out how they can support victims of hate crime to sign up.”
Michael Roberts, CEO of London Travelwatch, said: “Our ongoing research into personal security on London Transport, and our report Out in London, highlighted the worrying scale of hate crime and harassment on London transport, but also showed the high percentage of people that felt it wouldn’t be safe to intervene if they witnessed such a crime.
“The excellent Active Bystander Awareness training sessions will help educate and empower Londoners to take action if they witness any form of hate crime, and will contribute towards a safer transport system for everyone.”
Hate crime defined
A hate crime is any crime perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity. One of the themes for this month’s National Hate Crime Awareness Week was tackling hate crime that LGBTQ+ people experience. A report from London TravelWatch last year, Out in London, showed that 21 per cent of survey respondents experienced hate crime within the last year while travelling on London transport and 65 per cent of respondents who had experienced abuse or harm said bystanders had witnessed the event but did not intervene, with many respondents expressing they would not feel safe to do so.
Reporting
TfL encourages anyone who experiences or witnesses a crime on London Underground or rail to report it to British Transport Police (BTP) by texting 61016, or via the free Railway Guardian App. Or, report incidents to members of staff. Customers can report an incident on the buses at www.met.police.uk or by calling 101. In an emergency or if the suspect is still on scene, customers should call 999. Visit https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/safety/reporting-hate-crime.
Ways to support a passenger who is being harassed, if it is safe to do so include:
– Distract with a question: If it is safe to do so, speak to the person being targeted, ignoring the perpetrator. Asking a small question such as ‘do you have the time?’ or ‘what’s the next stop?’, can provide a distraction and help to defuse the situation
– Make a note: Make a note of what is happening, (what line, station, bus number or tube/train carriage number), what time it is, what the perpetrator looks like, what they’re wearing and any other important details.
– Make sure they are OK: after an incident, checking in with the person who has been targeted is a powerful thing to do, TfL says. Assure them that what happened isn’t OK, see if you can support them and let them know that you will report the incident too. This can make them feel less isolated and more confident to report it themselves.
Visit: https://protectionapproaches.org/ab-training.
