Alex Sampson, Plymouth Socialist Party
There has been a 20% rise in reported violent crimes against women on the transport network in the last year. Transport Police suggest that this is due to an increase in reporting and points to the use of apps such as Railway Guardian that have made reporting incidents easier.
Such an explanation is disingenuous and doesn’t reflect the reality of many women’s experiences. The figures actually show an increase in reporting of 50% over the last five years, and a separate survey found one-third of women had been subjected to assault whilst commuting.
But it is not just the transport system that has become increasingly dangerous for women. All of the police metrics show increases in reports of violence and harassment against women. This is against a backdrop of record low prosecutions for rape, and huge backlogs of cases waiting to be heard in court.
14 years of Tory cuts to police, courts, legal aid, finance for women’s shelters and even cuts to funding, resulting in councils reducing street lighting, have made a perfect storm for huge increases in violence against women in every setting, not just on the transport system.
These rises in reported violent crimes are shocking but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The appalling treatment women are subjected to during the legal process puts many more women off reporting their attacks.
14 years of Tory cuts have made this country a fundamentally unsafe place for women to undertake even basic tasks such as commuting. With Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves promising more ‘hard choices’ in the Autumn budget to plug a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in public finances, nothing is going to change any time soon.
At the same time, the government is cutting services, it is subsidising privatised public transport companies to the tune of billions of pounds of public money every year. And they still try to lay off large numbers of workers who are there to help and protect members of the public using the transport system, including train guards and ticket office staff.
The dangerous plan to close all ticket offices was overturned by industrial action and campaigning by rail unions, including the RMT.
Capitalism will always put profits above the safety of people, and both Tory and Labour governments have shown themselves willing to protect this system at all costs. This is why we must fight for a socialist future, which will nationalise transport industries and fully fund them, creating a well-staffed system which works for all, including the protection of women and vulnerable people, to ensure that no-one feels at risk doing something as fundamental as travelling to and from work.
