LONDON : A surge in reported sex offences on Britain's public transport has driven the idea of women-only rail carriages back into the political spotlight despite concerns that gender segregation would reinforce sexist attitudes and fail to tackle the problem. Politician Jeremy Corbyn, a left-wing candidate for the leadership of the opposition Labour party, said he would consider women-only carriages if he were to win office after first consulting women to see if they would welcome the move.
He was speaking after the British Transport Police (BTP) issued figures showing that the number of reported sexual offences on public transport had hit a new high, rising 25 percent in 2014/15 to 1,399 cases from 1,117 a year earlier.
The BTP attributed the steep rise to a campaign to encourage people to report sexual offences after a 2013 survey found one in 10 Londoners experienced unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport but more than 90 percent did not report it to police.
"It is unacceptable that many women and girls adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed on the street, public transport, and in other public places from the park to the supermarket," Corbyn said in a statement.