The chief of British Transport Police (BTP) has urged people to call out misogyny they witness on public transport.
Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said she was “disgusted” by “vile, nasty, and homophobic” messages that followed BTP’s announcement on Friday that Karen Findlay will be joining as the force’s new Assistant Chief Constable.
Speaking to radio station LBC, Ms D’Orsi described misogynistic behaviour as “a societal challenge” and urged people to “speak up about violence against women and girls”.
More than one-third of all British women who travel by railway are likely to be assaulted during their commute, suggest figures released in November by BTP, which polices the railway network.
Most assaults occur during the evening rush hour when trains are packed and busy, the BTP-commissioned research showed.
But just one in five people who witnessed sexual harassment had reported it to police.
Meanwhile, sexual offences on the London Underground are on the rise. In January, new figures from BTP showed the annual number of sexual offences on the Tube, excluding rape, had risen to 909 from 866 the previous year.
“This is a societal challenge for us all,” Ms D’Orsi told LBC.“We all need to come together and say ‘this is simply unacceptable’.
“Have you ever been one of those people that thought ‘this is a bit uncomfortable’ in a carriage - ‘I’ll get out and get on the next carriage further down’?
“I’m saying tell us about it. Don’t be that person who just moves their position. I think we can solve this if we work together.
“In my old role in counter-terrorism police we used to talk about how communities defeat terrorism, and I think in the rail sector passengers can help us to defeat unwanted sexual behaviour.”
Ms D’Orsi was among senior police figures who expressed shock and anger, after a social media post announcing Ms Findlay’s appointment as BTP’S new Assistant Chief Constable sparked “horrendous personal, sexist and homophobic” comments.Speaking to LBC, Ms D’Orsi said she felt it was her duty to call out the response in “strong” terms.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.
“It was a complete cesspit of hatred in terms of homophobia and misogyny on a global stage for somebody who all we’d done was post about her success - I was just really angry.
“I’m quite happy to say what I feel when I feel it so strongly, and I think we’ve all got to be better.
“I’m in a very privileged position - I’m a chief constable of a national police force that covers England Scotland and Wales and I think sometimes you have to use your platform to make your point.
“It will be appreciated by some and not by others, but I can’t shy away from that.
“I have to speak up about it because I’m asking the public to speak up about violence against women and girls.
“It is really important – [chief constables] are role models within society. We should be and we need to use our voices to discuss the topics that are important.”
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also condemned the “trolls” who responded to the news by “making horrendous personal sexist and homophobic comments”.
“I am angry,” he said. “My colleagues are angry. It isn’t acceptable and it’s happening too often.”
