2 hours ago 
At astir 11pm connected a Saturday nighttime a mates of weeks ago, Esme Rice was connected the Elizabeth Line that runs crossed London. She was travelling location aft meal with friends successful Farringdon erstwhile 2 men boarded the engaged carriage she was in.
"One of the men tried getting my attention," Esme says, "but I ignored him and waited for my stop."
As the bid was pulling into Stratford station, 1 of the men stroked Esme's back. The 2nd antheral stood successful her mode arsenic she tried to get off, and arsenic she hurried past him, Esme says helium groped her.
"It each happened truthful rapidly it took a infinitesimal for my encephalon to drawback up," she says. "I turned towards them and they were grinning, similar it was a joke. Then, they were gone.
"I stood connected the level feeling stunned, acrophobic and violated."
It was a emblematic lively Saturday evening with plentifulness of radical around, but nary constabulary officers.
Then words Esme had heard galore times connected trains and astatine stations abruptly echoed successful her head.
"See it. Say it. Sorted."
She texted the British Transport Police (BTP) connected 61016, the dedicated enactment for reporting non-emergency incidents connected the obstruction network. The BTP accidental they volition respond to immoderate transgression - from antisocial behaviour to coercion - wrong their jurisdiction, which covers much than 10,000 miles of way and astir 3,000 stations.
An automated reply came backmost which said Esme's study mattered and that idiosyncratic would telephone her "shortly". Then Esme was asked via substance connection to supply much detail, truthful she sent descriptions of what had happened, erstwhile and where, and waited for their call.
Going nationalist with the battle
But 13 hours aft being sexually assaulted connected 1 of the country's busiest transport networks, Esme inactive had not heard backmost from anyone. So she decided to station astir her acquisition connected societal media.
"I recorded myself with my phone, describing the incident, saying however frustrated I was astir the deficiency of response, and included a screenshot of the connection I'd received from police," she says.
Esme posted the videos onto her Instagram and TikTok accounts and wrong an hour, they had been viewed thousands of times. She says determination were hundreds of comments, including messages from women who said they understood precisely what she was talking about.
"Not agelong aft that I received a telephone from the BTP," Esme says. "They told maine they had opened an probe and arranged a clip to instrumentality my statement."
Details of assistance and enactment with intersexual maltreatment oregon unit are disposable at BBC Action Line
BTP told the BBC their telephone that time had not been prompted by Esme's video.
"But I couldn't disregard the timing," she says. "I had reported the battle privately and heard nothing.
"I spoke publicly, and abruptly determination was urgency."
A time later, a remark from BTP's authoritative societal media relationship appeared among the hundreds of others alongside Esme's video.
"We're atrocious you person been subjected to this atrocious behaviour connected the railway. We dainty each reports of intersexual battle highly seriously," the remark read, which was followed by a connection that an probe had been launched.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Drummond-Smith past called Esme and acknowledged that a 13-hour hold was acold excessively long.
"He said I should person been called the aforesaid evening I reported the incident," says Esme. "I person since been informed determination is present an interior probe into wherefore I was not offered further enactment that night."
Esme Rice astatine Stratford station, eastbound London, she is wearing a badge which says 'Shame indispensable alteration sides' inspired by the communicative of intersexual battle subsister Gisèle Pelicot
BTP launched its present precise acquainted nationalist information slogan a decennary ago. The operation - See it. Say it. Sorted - is broadcast implicit nationalist code systems successful stations and connected trains, and features prominently connected posters crossed the obstruction network.
Recent consciousness campaigns specifically name-check pressing, touching, staring and upskirting arsenic forms of intersexual harassment that are not tolerated connected nationalist transport - and committedness action.
But Esme says that, based connected her experience, it doesn't consciousness similar the BTP is capable to respond rapidly capable to truly support radical erstwhile they study an incidental - oregon deter unwanted behaviour.
"This wasn't the archetypal clip I felt similar I had received a mediocre effect aft reporting an incidental to the BTP," she says.
Esme says she was besides sexually harrassed 2 years previously, portion travelling with a person connected a Jubilee Line train, astatine 6pm 1 time successful March.
"I noticed a antheral lasting adjacent to me, touching himself," she says. "I moved away, but past looked down and realised that helium had moved person again and was masturbating against me.
"I retrieve the daze - I shouted astatine him, I took pictures, I called him retired loudly, truthful everyone connected that packed bid could hear. No-one stepped in."
Esme says her person moved her down the carriage, and erstwhile they reached Stratford they went consecutive to constabulary who were stationed connected the platform.
She gave them a statement, she says, which was written up the adjacent day, and BTP recovered the antheral connected CCTV.
But a media entreaty that asked the nationalist for further accusation astir the idiosyncratic captured connected CCTV went retired weeks aboriginal - not arsenic soon arsenic the footage was found. No recognition was made, and by mid-April Esme was told nary further enactment could beryllium taken.
'This could hap to anyone'
The videos Esme posted aft being sexually assaulted the 2nd clip exploded online. At the clip of penning they person had much than 500,000 views, and messages person poured successful from radical sharing akin experiences.
"Some radical get it incorrect successful the comments - they effort blaming maine for the information that it happened, oregon they permission racist comments astir the attackers," she says. "But I privation to marque it wide - this could hap to anyone."
Figures released astatine the extremity of 2025 amusement reports of intersexual offences connected the London Underground reached their highest level successful 5 years.
There were 595 intersexual offences crossed each Tube lines successful 2024-25, the astir since 2019-20 erstwhile determination were 776 reports.
The data, which was released by TfL successful effect to a Freedom of Information request, did not see the London Overground, DLR oregon Elizabeth Line.
At the clip TfL said: "Tackling unit against women and girls connected nationalist transport has agelong been a precedence for america and our policing partners, and concerted enactment has been undertaken for a fig of years."
Just 3 days aft Esme's assault, connected 9 June 2026 a rider was convicted nether new sex-based harassment legislation. He had grabbed a woman's hairsbreadth and tried to buss her connected a bid going into London, describing it arsenic "banter".
He was sentenced to a 12-month assemblage order, 150 hours of unpaid enactment and a 15-day rehabilitation programme.
The BTP told the BBC that tackling intersexual offending connected the transport web is simply a precedence arsenic it is "committed to protecting everyone's close to a harmless journey".
"The 61016 fig receives much than 250,000 texts each twelvemonth - and this fig continues to emergence arsenic assurance grows among passengers successful reporting historically under-reported crimes, specified arsenic intersexual offending," a spokesperson said.
"This isn't misplaced confidence, arsenic we've shown clip and clip again that we won't halt until we've caught offenders, enactment them earlier the courts, and secured justness for victims."
English (US)·