Blog post: Reflections on our personal security summit – London TravelWatch

06 December 2024

It’s been two weeks since our Personal Security summit, which we hosted in collaboration with TfL. We have now been able to reflect on the event 

The event gave us an opportunity to bring together many of our key stakeholders and community organisations, and gave us the opportunity to look at the progress made on personal security since the release of our Personal Security report in 2022 – but it was also a chance to consider what the next phase of this work should look like. 

The 2022 report gave us crucial insight into the concerns many people have when traveling in London. It highlighted people’s lack of trust in transport providers and policing authorities to address their concerns. For many women, people of colour, Disabled people, older people and LGBTQ+ people, past experiences of not being taken seriously, or a belief that the incidents are just not worth reporting, presents a major barrier. 

Sharing experiences 

The event sparked many discussions and ideas on how the industry could move this necessary work on personal security forward. We were grateful to those who were able to share their personal stories and experiences, which acted as a reminder of how the people who work on personal security are also impacted by the same issues. This made the event so much more rewarding, knowing that all of us are coming together to build a safe environment.  

We know more needs to be done on the support given to those who experience abuse and harassment while traveling. Far too often people don’t report if they see or experience sexual harassment, hate crime or hate encounter/s when traveling. We really want to understand what the barriers are to this and, most importantly, what we can do to remove them. We also want to work with stakeholders to make sure this process can be made easier and clearer, as well as offering alternatives so people can choose what support and reporting function works best for them.  

Looking forward 

Our next steps are to analyse the key takeaways from the discussions, panel sessions and breakout sessions.  This will help us to identify key themes and ideas, with the goal of exploring the opportunity to create a more joined up cross-industry approach to personal security. London TravelWatch will use the findings from the summit to create the next phases of work on this important topic. 

Thank you to everyone at TfL, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, Rail Delivery Group, British Transport Police , Suzy Lamplugh Trust, Galop, We Made This, Protection Approaches and everyone who attended the day and continue to support our work on this – we look forward to continuing  the vital and necessary work on personal security. 

Above photo l-r: Andy Fearn, Co-Exec Director at Protection Approaches; Jain Lemom, Head of Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, Mayor’s Office of Policing and Crime; Saskia Garner, Head of Policy & Campaigns, Suzy Lamplugh Trust; Siwan Hayward, Director of Compliance, Policing and Operational Security, TfL; Jac Starr, CEO, Rail Delivery Group, Sasha Langeveldt, Policy and Advocacy Officer, London TravelWatch