Out in London
LGBTQ+ people’s safety on the London transport network
Early last year (January 2022), we published a report on personal security on London’s transport network. One of the key findings of this research was that it highlighted the extent to which those in the LGBTQ+ community expressed a fear of victimisation when travelling.
As a result, we have now published a new report looking specifically at the issues facing those LGBTQ+ community. In collaboration with Galop, we surveyed over 600 LGBTQ+ adults and, the following four clear themes emerged.
Key findings
A large proportion of LGBTQ+ people travel around London with an underlying yet serious concern for their everyday safety
LGBTQ+ people live with a pervasive sense of vigilance about their safety – often changing their behaviour or appearance to reduce the risk to themselves of negative reactions or harm
Many LGBTQ+ people feel it can be unsafe to intervene as active bystanders if they see an incident, and they feel unsupported by the wider community
Many LGBTQ+ people have little confidence or trust in policing authorities, or in reporting crimes on public transport
Our recommendations
Decision-makers, the transport industry and policing authorities should:
1. Commit to awareness campaigns to end hate crime and harassment targeting LGBTQ+ people. This should be a cross-industry effort including education on the problem and how people can help stop it.
2. Conduct regular staff training, co-designed with LGBTQ+ people and stakeholders, to ensure staff have the right skill set and knowledge to help and support people in the LGBTQ+ community when they are travelling in London.
3. Commission further research into LGBTQ+ people’s safety concerns while travelling around London, particularly around policing and how different intersectionalities face different barriers when it comes to policing bodies and reporting.
4. Implement a robust cross-industry strategy to address anti-social behaviour.
5. Work directly with LGBTQ+ organisations and people with lived experience throughout. This should be factored into all aspects of work rather than as an add on or an afterthought.
In addition, transport operators should:
6. Maintain the frequency of services and ensure they are reliable, particularly at night, to help make sure people are not stuck in unsafe or potentially dangerous situations.
7. Put infrastructure in place to improve security concerns and perceptions of safety, including improving WIFI and connectivity, lighting, and CCTV.
8. Have visible staff at stations and on services to support LGBTQ+ people before, during and after their journey.
9. Collaborate with and support trusted third-party organisations such as CATCH and Zoteria to promote their services to LGBTQ+ people who use transport.
Policing authorities should:
10. Raise awareness of trusted third-party schemes such as CATCH and Zoteria and how to use them and improve these referral pathways within the police.
11. Within the Met, commit to implementing recommendations from the Casey Review to address LGBTQ+ prejudice within their organisation.
12. Within the BTP, create and implement an action plan detailing how they will address LGBTQ+ prejudice within their organisation and build trust within the LGBTQ+ community.
Find out more
Watch our interviews with the LGBTQ+ community
