Of the 237 cases of sexual assault on trains and at stations in Islington from 2016 to 2020, 236 involved sexual assault with no penetration. One rape was recorded in the period at Highgate Underground Station. This occurred in 2017, involving a victim under the age of 18.
However, the rape victim was not the only one to suffer from sexual assault at such a young age. A further 17 individuals under the age of 18 were sexually assaulted in the period – four of whom were younger than 13.
An NSPCC spokesperson who was briefed with these statistics said: “The victims in these cases have shown bravery beyond their years in speaking out about their experiences.
“Child sexual abuse has a devastating impact on lives and it’s important victims have the confidence to come forward and seek support, knowing they will be listened to.”
The majority of victims were female, with 215 incidents reported in the last four years. Only 15 victims were male. However Neil Henderson, the CEO of Safeline, argued that we should take this data with a “pinch of salt.”
Safeline was established in 1994 as a charity to both prevent sexual abuse, and to support survivors and their recovery. To this day the charity has helped 25,000 survivors. The charity established a helpline in October 2015 – only a year after the government decided to offer funds for male support services
Henderson said, when looking at the statistics: “There’ll be more cases than this. Many will go unreported. Our research suggests one in five women and one in six men have faced some form of sexual abuse in their lifetime.”
“We need to respect every victim here instead of isolating minorities – or we won’t help future victims speak out. Safeline is for everyone and one of our missions is to help get the unheard heard. Men, children and those from BAME and LGBT communities are the least likely to report any personal incidences of sexual assault, we’ve got to change that.”
The BTP data did show that the vast majority of cases of sexual assaults reported in the last four years at Islington’s stations were of victims aged between 22-30. Of all the known victims ages it is clear the majority are young and under the age of 30. There were 147 victims aged 30 and below and only 55 victims over the age of 30.
