Saoirse Ronan spotlighted that travelling in public is not safe for women and girls.

“This week the actor Saoirse Ronan has taken the internet by storm after a clip of her educating her fellow (male) guests on The Graham Norton Show on precautions that women take to ensure their safety when in public, went viral. This has triggered conversations between friends, family members and in the media, about women and girls’ experiences when travelling in public and the steps they take keep themselves safe. For women and girls from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, this can be even harder.

My research project, Young People’s Travel Safety in Birmingham, focuses on the safety of young people (aged 15-18) travelling in Birmingham. During our research young women and girls have told us they do not feel safe on public transport. Their experiences whilst travelling included being approached and intimidated primarily by adult males, even when they were in school uniform, men staring, having inappropriate discussions, propositioning them, and trying to get girls off of buses. One girl told us that when she was on a bus journey, she noticed a man trying to inject her with an unknown substance. Thankfully, she was able to move away and avoid being injected.

Girls reported taking numerous steps to try and stay safe, such as:

• Only going out of the home when necessary.
• Staying in at night.
• Travelling in groups.
• Sitting downstairs on buses (for easier escape and to be closer to the driver).
• Befriending strangers on buses who looked trustworthy when faced with inappropriate behaviour from men.
• Listening to music to block out inappropriate propositioning.
• Pointing out their clothing such as school uniforms and that they were children as a way of highlighting the inappropriate attention.
• Using digital mapping and tracking tools to find friends when travelling alone.
• Telling men that they are gay to try and emphasise their unavailability.

Some girls said they were afraid of using public transport altogether, which can be a huge impediment to accessing education, training, and employment, particularly for those who do not have access to a family car or cannot afford taxis. Everyone should have access to safe public transport, no matter their gender or background.”