Children as young as 11 sexually harassed on public transport

Children as young as 11 say they are "tired" of being sexually harassed on buses and trains.

One 16-year-old girl told the BBC she was "disgusted" after being catcalled and receiving sexual comments while on public transport.

Harrogate Youth Council is campaigning for more children to speak up about incidents happening in North Yorkshire.

British Transport Police said it was "unacceptable" and it was working hard to tackle the problem.

Sixteen-year-old Lulu said she often received "unwanted comments" from men while travelling.

"Even in your school uniform, you have people catcalling you," she added. "You've got people who will sit really close to you on an empty bus.

"Young people don't want to report these things because it's just an everyday thing.

"It's something that happens day in, day out for many people and we're tired of it."

Lulu is chair of Harrogate Youth Council, which is made up of children aged 11 to 18.

Its campaign aims to increase reporting of incidents as well as improving CCTV on buses and trains and in and around stations.

Fifteen-year-old Brando is a member of the group and also the UK Youth Parliament.

He said female classmates commonly discussed being victims of sexual harassment.

"I've even heard stories of groping. These are children," he said.

"These are people younger than me. It's disgusting that people in this day and age do these things to children."

Daniel, 15, added: "We want bystanders to be more aware and report more things instead of just watching it happen."

Det Ch Insp Nia Mellor, from British Transport Police, urged anyone who saw or experienced sexual harassment to report it.

She added that a mixture of high-visibility and plain-clothes officers were working to create a "hostile environment" for perpetrators on trains.

The force also encouraged bystanders to "safely intervene" by doing something as simple as asking the person being targeted if they are OK.

A law to make sexual harassment in public a criminal offence was passed in September, with a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

But some women's rights groups have expressed doubts that the new law can be enforced.

Responding to a question from Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones earlier this year, Transport Minister Huw Merriman told the House of Commons he welcomed the work from Harrogate Youth Council.

Mr Merriman said he would take Harrogate Youth Council's ideas to the Chief Constable of British Transport Police.

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