The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment and assault against women and girls on public transport: an international review

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice,Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2017. Purpose This paper reports on the findings from a study commissioned by the British Transport Police and the Department for Transport for England and Wales concerning sexual offences and harassment on public transport worldwide. Specifically, it aims to explore the prevalence of such behaviours, through a review of existing survey and interview data regarding women and girls ’ experiences. Design/methodology/approach A Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) was used, the function of which is to: search the literature as comprehensively as possible within given time constraints; collate descriptive outlines of the available evidence on a topic and critically appraise it; s ift out studies of poor quality; and provide an overview of the evidence. Findings It was found that prevalence rates range from 15 percent to 95 percent, with the UK having the lowest rates. Emerging economies had higher rates of harassment and assault, which may relate to differing cultural and gender norms, where public space is regarded as a male domain. Research limitations/implications A REA is not a full systematic review, differing in the scope and depth of the searches and depending almost exclusively on electronic databases, not accompanied by searching journals by hand. Pract ical implications 1. More research of high methodological rigour needs to be carried out on prevalence rates of sexual harassment and offe...
Source: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice - Category: Criminology Source Type: research