National Rail - "Hands Off"

We have a societal problem with sexual harassment. 71% of women in the UK have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour (USB) in public spaces. It’s a problem compounded by a lack of recognition of what constitutes harassment, meaning that lines are not clearly drawn and many incidents go unreported. The Railway creates a uniquely threatening context for this behaviour – with those experiencing USB simultaneously vulnerable, on-show and trapped. Whilst we all know that putting your feet on the seat is wrong, staring, wolf whistling, cat calling, sexual comments, exposure, airdrop messages and physical contact seem to be a grey area for too many.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) decided to change that in 2021, briefing us to give the victims more confidence to speak up as well as the information about how to. We launched a campaign which would establish beyond doubt the behaviours that are not tolerated on the railway, enabling both witnesses and victims to recognise and address public harassment and to give potential perpetrators an education in what USB is, for the avoidance of all doubt (and excuse).

The campaign was designed to be simple and unmissable. The conversation that resulted was high profile and set new standards for public understanding of sexual harassment. The result was that rail users know where the lines are drawn and are empowered to collectively uphold them. Because a societal problem requires a collective understanding of right and wrong before we can fix it.

​Winner of the 2022 Independent Agency Awards, Freedom Award - Outstanding Bravery​