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Chamber and committees

Women and Girls’ Safety on Public Transport

  • Submitted by: Katy Clark, West Scotland, Scottish Labour.
  • Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
  • Motion reference: S6M-11508
  • Current status: Achieved cross-party support

That the Parliament believes that sexual harassment and abusive and antisocial behaviour are a widespread problem on public transport in Scotland, with women and girls disproportionately impacted; notes the survey by the Office for National Statistics, which reportedly shows that around half of women in Britain feel unsafe using public transport alone after dark, compared with around one in five men; notes with concern the findings of a RMT union survey of ScotRail members in 2023, which, it understands, found that more than 70% of women members had experienced workplace violence in the past year, and that more than 90% believed that workplace violence and antisocial behaviour was increasing, with the same amount reporting feeling less safe at work than they used to; understands that the unions Unite, TSSA and ASLEF have also reported incidences of violence and antisocial behaviour directed at their women members; notes the British Transport Police statistics, which reportedly show that there were 77 sexual crimes recorded in Scotland in 2021-22, and that there were 63 reports of sexual assaults on ScotRail trains between 2017 and 2021; understands that two thirds of ScotRail stations are unstaffed, including stations in the West Scotland region, and that the Scottish Government is considering cutting ticket office opening hours, as consulted on by ScotRail's former operator, Abellio, in 2022; welcomes Transport Scotland’s published report, Women's and girls' views and experiences of personal safety when using public transport, which found "consensus from women and girls of all ages that being in spaces that were staffed or had a staff presence made women feel safe" and that women were "more comfortable if ticket offices were open and staffed (especially later at night)", and calls on the Scottish Government to provide an update on its stated intention to progress the report’s 10 recommendations with organisations that were invited to participate in this work, including trade unions.


Supported by: Neil Bibby, Ariane Burgess, Alexander Burnett, Foysol Choudhury, Pam Duncan-Glancy, Pam Gosal, Monica Lennon, Pauline McNeill, Carol Mochan, Paul O'Kane, Alex Rowley, Colin Smyth, Paul Sweeney, Mercedes Villalba (Registered interest) , Tess White, Brian Whittle