Research and analysis

Findings from the transport safety for women and girls interventions scan

Published 26 September 2024

An overview of the spread and types of interventions that are available relating to violence against women and girls on the transport system. The list is not exhaustive.

Number	Intervention with web link	Category	Description	Purpose	Transport mode
1	Walk Me Home	Surveillance and Policing	Walk Me Home is an app that would allow users to opt in to a GPS tracking system and an alert would be triggered if they did not reach their destination on time	Immediate response	All
2	Bus operators legally required to provide real time information	Management	A consultation on legally requiring bus operators to share their data so that passengers can get real time information on bus routes, timetables and fares.	Prevention	Bus
3	Safe and the City	Surveillance and Policing	App with functions such as safer route planning
through the use of real time information, and contacting emergency services.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
4	Red Panic Button	Surveillance and Policing	Pressing the panic button on this app instantly sends your emergency contacts an SMS and an email with your coordinates in a Google Maps link. It also allows you to send a ‘panic tweet’ that shares your location and lets your followers know that you need help.	Immediate response	All
5	Circulo	Surveillance and Policing	Círculo helps connect you to a reliable network of six peers. Establish protocols, send alerts and keep those in your circle informed.	Immediate response	All
6	Sister	Surveillance and Policing	App that tracks your location in real time , so you can share it with your trusted contacts. Sister comes with special features y, such as a GPS that indicates you the safest route with the nearby police stations, a deterrent alarm to stop any kind of aggression, and a SOS mode to contact with the emergency services with just one click.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
7	Becon	Surveillance and Policing	Private and simple-to-use walking safety app that looks out for you on your everyday journeys, automatically.	Immediate response	All
8	Displaying real time information at transport hubs	Management	Looking at the differnet ways real time information can be delivered to passengers on the transport network.	Prevention	All
9	Fix my street	Management	Report, view and discuss local problems on the website.	Prevention	All
10	Bsafe	Surveillance and Policing	BSafe has a range of features, such as an SOS button, which can be activated by touch or voice and records your surroundings to send to your chosen contacts, and lets you invite your contacts to follow your location via GPS.	Immediate response	All
11	Lighting	Built Environment	Improved lighting has been shown to reduce crimes. It also increase the feeling of safety for women walking home in the dark	Prevention	All
12	Life360	Surveillance and Policing	Life360 lets you make your own ‘circles’ of trusted contacts and check out their location, as well as send and receive real-time alerts when members of your circle leave or arrive at different places. There’s a help alert function which lets your circle know that you don’t feel safe after 10 seconds.	Immediate response	All
13	One scream	Surveillance and Policing	Voice activated personal safety app. Once app is activated a text message and an automated call with your location is then sent to your nominated contact.	Immediate response	All
14	My panic alarm	Surveillance and Policing	Panic alarm app on phone to raise attention that you are in need of help.	Immediate response	All
15	Parachute	Surveillance and Policing	Parachute uses your phone’s sensors to continuously record video, audio and location data during an emergency. Your evidence is then saved away from your phone. The app simultaneously texts, calls and emails your emergency contacts and sends them your live video, audio and location.	Immediate response	All
16	Wher	Management	Maps for women made by women. Women will be able to make informed decisons about route planning.	Prevention	All
17	Hollie Guard	Surveillance and Policing	Hollie Guard has you covered, whether you’re working alone, travelling to an unknown area or simply commuting around town. App with two different modes (deterrent and stealth) to trigger the alarm to emergency contacts.	Immediate response	All
18	UrSafe	Surveillance and Policing	Personal safety app that allows users to set personal safewords that trigger different responses depending on the severity of the situation.	Immediate response	All
19	Safety Call	Surveillance and Policing	With the tap of a button the app will generate a fake but realistic sounding safety call, while simultaneously sending your location to an emergency contact. Shaking the app will contact the emergency services	Immediate response	All
20	Keep me safe	Surveillance and Policing	An app that protects women from danger. Never lose sight of your loved ones with Keep Me Safe’s strong and accurate geofencing, SOS, video and audio recording, location history, and Street View features.	Immediate response	All
21	My Safetipin	Surveillance and Policing	The app is your personal tool to make your city safer and to hold your local authorities accountable for creating a safe environment! Through the safety audit, you can share your inputs and feeling of safety in a place by simply rating 9 parameters and adding pictures as well as comments.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
22	Womens Safety	Surveillance and Policing	With just a tap of a button, the app sends an e-mail to preconfigured emails along with your location and a link to Google Maps. The app also captures 2 pics, one with front camera and the other with back camera, and a video or audio clip and uploads it a server.	Immediate response	All
23	Smart 24X7	Surveillance and Policing	Smart24x7 is a personal safety & security app for personal & business use that alerts emergency contacts with your GPS location.	Immediate response	All
24	Safer Transport Northumbria	Management	Whether using the Metro or buses in the region, this app has been designed to make it easier to tell someone about any crimes or concerns you have and to get support.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
25	Shake 2 Safety	Surveillance and Policing	Shake2Safety is designed to send emergency messages to a contact, as well as record audio and video, and can be triggered by subtle movements like shaking your phone or pushing the power button four times.	Immediate response	All
26	CCTV	Surveillance and Policing	CCTV can be used to deter crime, increase the feeling of safety, help cordinate a reponse during an incident, and help catch the offender after the crime has been committed.	Prevention, Post-incident reaction	All
27	See it , Say it, Sort it	Education	Campaign asking rail passengers and people who use railway stations to help keep themselves and others safe by reporting unusual items or activity on the railway	Post-incident reaction	Rail
28	CitizenCOP	Management	Citizen Cop provides a hassle-free and easy way for crime reporting. Built with an initiative to empower the common man, CitizenCOP is a location-based safety app.	Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
29	Body worn cameras	Surveillance and Policing	Nexus  provided all frontline staff body worn video cameras as part of an initiative to deter anti-social behaviour.	Prevention, Post-incident reaction	All
30	Enough	Education	Multi-year national communications campaign which aims to reduce violence against women and girls.	Prevention	All
31	Suzy Lamplugh Trust	Education	The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is the UK’s pioneering personal safety charity and leading stalking authority.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
32	White Ribbon UK	Education	White Ribbon is the UK’s leading charity engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls	Prevention	All
33	Community cohesion exercises by Nexus	Education	Intervention involved holding meetings in areas across the whole network and invite police, youth offending teams, and young people workers along to an evening to show face and deal with issues or aspects of peoples travel.	Prevention	All
34	PT4ME.PT4YOU.PT4ALL	Education	Campaign to raise awareness on the issues women face when using public transport	Prevention	All
35	TFL Zero Tolerance to sexual harassment	Education	Campaign to tackle sexual harassment on the transport network.	Prevention	All
36	Good night out campaign	Education	From the pub to the street to the bus to our homes, sexual harassment is everywhere. The group builds workplace and community capacity to respond to and prevent all gender-based harms.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
37	Street Safe	Management	A pilot service for anyone to anonymously report  public places where they have felt or feel unsafe, because of environmental issues. StreetSafe is not for reporting crime or incidents.	Prevention	All
38	UK Safe spaces	Management	UN Women UK’charity team shape a national conversation to revealthe prevalence of sexual harassment across the UK	Prevention	All
39	Know the difference	Education	A campaign that targeted men’s behaviour and attitudes towards women and unwanted sexual behaviour and offences	Prevention	All
40	Walk Safe+	Surveillance and Policing	WalkSafe provides the tools to allow you to make informed decisions around your personal safety!	Prevention	All
41	Text 61016	Management	Text service offers the travelling public and rail staff a means to contact BTP directly and discreetly, in order to report non-emergency crime.	Post-incident reaction	All
42	Safer streets for women and girls	Education	Joint initative between North Somerset and Somerset County Council to help tackle violence against women and girls.	Prevention	All
43	Rail industry campaign to crack down on sexual harassment	Education	Rail industry campaign will raise awareness about what constitutes sexual harassment, encouraging reporting and helping to make sure there is no unsafe space on the railway	Prevention	Rail
44	Safer Streets Liverpool	Education	Safer Streets Liverpool aims to stop unwanted sexual behaviour across transport routes in the city. New measures  include safety training for transport staff, more CCTV coverage and a text service which can be used to report concerns.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
45	Safe Dates	Education	A ten-session dating abuse prevention program to raise students’ awareness of what constitutes healthy and abusive dating relationships, as well as the causes and consequences of dating abuse.	Prevention	All
46	The Safety of Women at Night Fund	Education	The Safety of Women at Night Fund will award funding to organisations focused on improving the safety of women and girls at night.	Prevention	All
47	Ask for Angela	Education	The safety initiative is being rolled out to bars, clubs and other licensed businesses across London.  People who feel unsafe, vulnerable or threatened can discreetly seek help by approaching venue staff and asking them for ‘Angela’.	Immediate response	All
48	Repurposing dark foot tunnels	Built Environment	Repurpose univiting places to decrease the chance of VAWG incidents. Provide a better walking route for women and girls	Prevention	All
49	Greater Manchester’s Safer Streets initiative	Education	Greater Manchester is investing in a series of schemes aimed at helping women and girls feel safer when out and about in the city-region.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
50	Smart Lamposts - Humble lampost	Built Environment	The humble lampost proposal is an example of how security features such as emergency buttons could be incorparated into lamp post design. This could add an increased sense of safety for women walking on the streets.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
51	Innovative ways to display campaigns	Design	Different ways were digital dispays can be used to engage the audience in a more interactive way	Prevention	All
52	Transport staff posisitoing at stations	Surveillance and Policing	Nexus have a new security team. The staffing is small but two teams are either positioned at areas where they have been identified as hot spots for ASB or they are sent to areas following reports of ASB on the system by either the public or control.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
53	Travel couriers	Surveillance and Policing	A pilot scheme in 2002 trained unemployed people to work as  ‘Travel Couriers’ on buses, with the aim of improving passengers feelings of safety.	Prevention, Immediate response	Bus
54	Hi visibilty policing	Surveillance and Policing	Target Policing Initiative - For two months in 2002 in Wesr Yorkshire, uniformed police officers in high visibility jackets, and plain-clothes officers, were deployed on buses and at bus stops in West Yorkshire. Their remit was to talk to passengers and to provide a visible presence.	Prevention, Immediate response	Bus
55	Plain clothed police	Surveillance and Policing	Plain clothed police work on the Metro in the North East.	Immediate response	All
56	Drones	Surveillance and Policing	Drones with real-time video relay, autonomous capabilities, and equipped with daylight and/or thermal cameras can help authorities control crimes proactively.	Prevention, Post-incident reaction	All
57	Buddies schemes by Nexus	Education	Nexus provided independent travel training for vulnerable people that use their transport systems.	Prevention	All
58	Project Guardian	Management	Project Guardian is a joint initiative between BTP , the Metropolitan Police Service, the City of London Police, and TFL, which aimed to combat and increase reporting of sexual harassment on public transport in London.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
59	TravelSafe Partnership	Management	The partnership  works to reassure the travelling public and to prevent and deal with incidents of crime, anti-social behaviour and fare evasion. To do this the team gathers crime and anti-social behaviour data from a variety of sources to identify areas of the transport network that may be vulnerable to crime and anti-social behaviour.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
60	Right to be	Education	Train people to respond to, intervene in, and heal from harassment. Space for people experiencing harassment to share their stories for affirmation and support.	Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
61	SpaceTimeAI	Surveillance and Policing	Predictive modelling using AI. Data can be used for crime prediction, police patrol behavioural analysis, optimal patrol routing in real-time, agent-based simulation for strategic planning .	Prevention	All
62	Bus Safety Feedback Tool	Management	Public survey to gather feedback on the safety of the West Yorkshire bus network	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
63	Tramlabs Toolkit	Management	The aim of these toolkits is to provide a framework and practical steps to help make public transport safer for women and girls, providing stakeholders with direction about how to reduce their fear and risk.	Prevention	All
64	The everyday sexism project	Management	The project was set up in England in 2012 ‘to catalogue instances of sexism experienced by women on a day to day basis’. Women can share their experiences online via the website, Twitter or email.	Post-incident reaction	All
65	Open innovation platform	Management	The TInnGO Open Innovation Platform is a collaboration platform that aims to bring together TInnGO national hubs, stakeholders and European citizens willing to address local issues of gender and diversity in transport.	Prevention	All
66	Multi-agency task teams	Management	Joint approach across multiple stakeholders in an effort to make journeys safer for women. Research has suggested that in order to reduce sexual offending on public transport, a coordinated package of complementary initiatives is the most effective approach.	Prevention, Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
67	Youth Liaison Officer by Nexus	Education	Youth Liaison Officers work in schools and youth centres with people under 19 on the safe use of public transport and where to get assistance if required.	Prevention	All
68	Staff training	Education	All frontline Nexus staff and those working in Metro and in bus stations have seen given vulnerability training and suicide preventions training.	Immediate response	All
69	Tower Hamlets VAWG training	Education	This is a multiagency training programme provided by Tower Hamlets for professionals from the statutory, voluntary and community sectors to identify and respond effectively and appropriately to issues relating to VAWG.	Prevention	All
70	Railway Guardian	Management	British Transport Police’s official app to make rail travel in England, Scotland and Wales safer for everyone, with guides and incident reporting.	Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
71	Report it to stop it	Education	Campaign encouraging people to report to the police any behaviour that has made them feel uncomfortable.	Post-incident reaction	All
72	Social Media Solutions - A prosocial bystander image toolkit	Education	Easy-to-customize social media campaign that focuses on a prosocial bystander approach to preventing sexual and relationship violence. Toolkits come with 250+ images to choose from for use across many different social media platforms.	Prevention	All
73	EAASI product evalauation tool	Management	A gender and diversity sensitive usability evaluation tool - evaluate new innovations against relevant criteria.	Prevention	All
74	Teams within transport systems	Management	Nexus has different groups such as a security working group, tasking crime group, crime and
disorder forum groups in an effort to reduce and help with VAWG incidents.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
75	First response app Oxford	Management	First Response App helps students respond to sexual violence in Oxford.	Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
76	Busy bus feature on the Stagecoach app	Management	App which informs customers on how busy a journey is at the current time. This means that  customers can decide to avoid it if they think it is too busy or in fact too quiet.	Prevention	Bus
77	CCTV signage on buses	Design	Buses are clearly labelled as having CCTV which is deterring.  Some buses have internal TV screens which show the shots from the internal cameras which can be additionally deterring.	Prevention	Bus
78	Visible Plat.fm	Management	Accessible and efficient platform for reporting sexual harassment, straight from your phone or digital device.	Post-incident reaction	All
79	Crime prevention through enviromental design	Built Environment	Design of public areas can reduce the likelhood of a vawg incident happening, and reduce fear levels of women. Some considerations are - Walkable areas around transport hubs, More entry/exit points to stations, Maintenance of transport hubs, Low foilage around transport hubs, having bus stop locations in busy/overlooked areas if possible.	Prevention	All
80	Bus shelter design - Clear walls to offer better visibility	Design	Having bus shelters with clear walls increases te feeling of safety and decreases the chances of an incident happening within the bus shelter itself.	Prevention	Bus
81	AI CCTV	Surveillance and Policing	CCTV system that uses AI and facial recognition to track people who may be on criminal databases, or have posted inappropriate content on social media	Prevention	All
82	Everyones invited	Management	Everyone’s Invited is a safe place for survivors to share their stories completely anonymously.	Post-incident reaction	All
83	Safezone	Surveillance and Policing	In the event of an emergency, the app allows you to quickly share your location and details with the local response team who will be able to get the right assistance to you.	Immediate response	All
84	SafeUP	Surveillance and Policing	App allows you to see what ‘guardians’ are near by so that you can feel safer walking home.	Immediate response	All
85	Bystander interventions	Education	Training to educate bystanders so that they can act better if they see a harassment incident occuring.	Immediate response	All
86	TinnGO Incident reporting	Management	Website that allows you to share your experiecnes of haressment.	Post-incident reaction	All
87	Get ME Home Safely	Management	Members from across the hospitality and passenger transport sectors, working with the equalities sector, calling for immediate changes to protect women workers.	Prevention	All
88	Ask for Ani	Education	Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) is a codeword scheme developed by the Home Office to provide a discreet way for victims of domestic abuse to signal that they need emergency help from the safety of their local pharmacy.	Immediate response	All
89	Green dot bystander intervention training	Education	Green Dot is a University of Florida campus-wide initiative that provides education and prevention strategies that address sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, bullying, and stalking.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
90	A-Z of Consent campaign	Education	Campaign to raise awareness on the importance of consent, challenge myths about rape and sexual violence, and encourage victims-survivors to access support and report.	Prevention	All
91	Crime not compliment	Education	Camapign aiming to change the laws around sexual harassment in the UK	Prevention	All
92	Visible help desks at transport hubs	Built Environment	Service kiosks insidestations where users can seek help or report incidents. Staff at these kiosks would be trained to deal with VAWG incidents	Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	All
93	Taxi marshalls	Surveillance and Policing	Taxi marshalls, who are trained staff are at taxi ranks to provide support and prevent unregistered taxis picking women up.	Prevention, Immediate response	Taxi
94	VR/ Gamification	Education	Working with train operating companies and expert technology partners to apply emerging AR & VR technologies. Technology could be used for staff training to deal with vawg incidents.	Immediate response	All
95	Project Vigilant	Education	Initiative that uses a combination of uniformed and plain clothed officers to carry out patrols in areas outside night clubs, bars and pubs, to identify people who may be displaying signs of predatory behaviour, such as sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and loitering.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
96	Safe space by Stagecoach	Education	Stagecoach West have a ‘Safe Space’ initiative where people in the community, for example runners, can jump on the bus if they feel threatened and the bus and driver will be a ‘safe space’. The driver will contact the Police to report any suspicious person in an incident like this.	Immediate response, Post-incident reaction	Bus
97	Safe Spaces on Metro and interchanges by Nexus	Surveillance and Policing	Safe space for vunerable people to go and talk to staff if they are in difficulty or need help.	Immediate response	Rail
98	Shorim NW London	Surveillance and Policing	Shomrim organisations around the world operate as a mobile neighbourhood watch and acts as eyes and ears to the local community and the Police Service.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
99	That Guy	Education	Campaign from Police Scotland that aims to reduce rape, serious sexual assault and harassment by having frank conversations with men about male sexual entitlement.	Prevention	All
100	SafeStreets	Surveillance and Policing	SafeStreets is a social safety network, that connects neighbours and keeps your family and your home safe from people that would do you harm.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
101	Harassmap	Management	Website that lets you report where  VAWG incidents have happened.	Post-incident reaction	All
102	Staff training provided by Graham Goulder	Education	Training is to equip staff with further knowledge and awareness around rape and sexual assault.  The training will discuss the idea of the ‘bystander approach’ supporting individuals to make effective decisions.	Immediate response	All
103	This is not an invitation to rape me	Education	Targeted educational campaign directed at mens and boys to reduce unwanted sexual behaviour.	Prevention	All
104	Real consent programme	Education	RealConsent is an online training program for sexual assault prevention and alcohol education that is aimed at educating college-aged students.	Prevention	All
105	Self Audits	Management	Process that trains community members and groups to carry out safety audits themselves. This tool has helped incorporate women into the transport planning process – establishing them as safety expert and empowering them to bring positive change to their communities.	Prevention	All
106	Have a word campaign	Education	Campaign to get men to reflect on their sexual own behaviour.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
107	Theatre interventions	Education	Applied theatre projects use a wide range of techniques and approaches that are generally participatory in nature and share the goal of creating social awareness and change with the audience.	Prevention	All
108	See Say	Management	Tool for reporting concerns. When you see a problem, the See Say app provides a quick and discreet way to inform people who can do something about it.	Immediate response	All
109	Self Evident	Management	App to report non emergecny crimes to the police. The app allows victims and witnesses to report a crime, giving an account of what happened, and attach photos and/or video footage	Post-incident reaction	All
110	Solace	Management	Free and confidential advice and support for women in London affected by abuse.	Post-incident reaction	All
111	Windsor safety hub	Built Environment	A safety hub which provides support for vulnerable people in and around the town centre at night in Windsor.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
112	Empowerment campaigns and training	Education	Interventions designed to promote empowerment through self-defence and coaching for young women. Benefits may include awareness raising and skills to recognise inappropriate behaviour and keeping friends safe.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
113	Home Safe	Management	Home Safe helps to cover the cost of UBER and taxi rides all over the United Kingdom. Mission is to support and encourage women to take safer journeys home instead of walking alone at night.	Prevention	All
114	Voluteer neighbourhood watch groups - Street Angels	Surveillance and Policing	Street Angels is the church and community working together to provide more physical presence on the street to deter offenders and to help those in need.	Prevention, Immediate response	All
115	Digital printing for train seat promotion	Design	A method to print messages and campaigns on railway seats. Different method to present a message to passengers might make it more memorable to them.	Prevention	Rail
116	See.Sense	Management	Collecting data through customer sensors installed on their bikes. Insights from the data can be used to inform planning, policy, safety, carbon reduction, behaviour change and are providing the evidence base for future investments.	Prevention	All