What happened when I tried to report sexual assault to the British Transport Police

After she was sexually assaulted a second time, the videos she posted went viral online. As of this writing, they’ve had over 500,000 views, and messages from people who share similar experiences.

“Some people are wrong in the comments – they try to blame me for what happened or they leave racist comments on the attackers,” she said. “But I want to be clear – this can happen to anyone.”

In the year Figures released by the end of 2025 show reports of sexual offenses on the London Underground They have reached the highest level in five years.

There were 595 sexual offenses across all tube lines in 2024-25, the highest since 2019-20 when there were 776 reports.

The data released by TfL in response to a freedom of information request did not include London Overland, the DLR or the Elizabeth Line.

At the time, TPLF said, “Combating violence against women and girls in public transport is a priority for us and our police partners, and concerted action has been taken for several years.”

Three days after Esme’s attack, on June 9, 2026, a passenger was charged New gender-based harassment law. He grabbed a woman’s hair and tried to kiss her on a train to London, which he described as “banter”.

He was sentenced to a 12-month community order, 150 hours of unpaid work and a 15-day rehabilitation programme.

BTP told the BBC that tackling sexual assault on the transport network was a priority as it was “committed to protecting everyone’s right to safe travel”.

“The 61016 number receives more than 250,000 texts each year – and this figure is increasing as confidence grows among passengers to report crimes such as sexual assault that have not been historically documented,” the spokesman said.

“This is not a misplaced belief as we have shown time and time again that we will not stop until we catch criminals, bring them to justice and bring justice to victims.”