MP Dawn Butler, 49, has encouraged anyone made to feel uncomfortable by other passengers on public transport to report their behaviour to the British Transport Police after an incident on her morning commute.
The Shadow Women & Equalities Secretary and MP for Brent Central tweeted that she was travelling to Westminster on a Jubilee Line train on Thursday when a “creepy” man made herself and two other women feel “uncomfortable” with his “predatory behaviour”.
Butler explained to HuffPost UK: “I was [first] aware of his presence because he was a big man and as he got on he thrust his crotch into the face of the young woman sat next to me. He then sat in the seat next to her, angling himself towards her and put his arm down on the ledge behind us.”
Although the other woman, who was in her late twenties, was sitting between Butler and the man, the MP says she felt uncomfortable on the woman’s behalf and started making smalltalk to reassure her she was aware what was going on.
“I needed to make sure she was okay,” said Butler.
After a brief conversation, the woman moved to get off the train and the man followed her to the doors. A third woman – who Butler said had not been involved until this point – then put herself between the woman and the man.
“She must have noted the body language and the situation,” said Butler. “She stood in between them and delayed him a little bit from getting off the train.”
Butler said she was proud of the female solidarity on display, but that anyone made to feel uncomfortable on public transport – particularly women – should be aware of how they can report the behaviour.
She tweeted the text number for the British Transport Police [BTP] – 61016 – saying that people should feel free to use it if they experienced similar behaviour on their journeys.
“The more we put that [number] out there the better,” the MP said. “Because generally if they are displaying this predatory behaviour on the tube, they have form. It could be something that guy does every single day.”
She added that if the police and train operators aren’t aware of behaviour that goes on, they cannot establish links between incidents or identify patterns of behaviour they can address.
A spokesperson for the BTP said it encourages people to report any form of behaviour that makes them feel uncomfortable, including rubbing, leering, sexual comments, indecent acts or more serious sexual assault.
“It is really important that people report any kind of unwanted sexual behaviour to us as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said. “Time is of the essence so we can exploit all evidence gathering opportunities. Every report, with as much detail as possible helps to build a picture of the offender.”
A similar message has been given to victims of cyberflashing – the sending of unsolicited sexual images – on London Underground or other public transport. Many women have told HuffPost UK they don’t report it when it happens – but the BTP has encouraged them to do so.
Butler said the incident highlights that women’s experiences of everyday harassment often aren’t listened to or believed.
“There’s a real problem when people’s first reaction is to refuse to accept the feelings and experiences of others – if you feel you are superior in a situation that you were not part of,” she said. “There is a real issue in society with this, we need people to just shut up and listen to each other.