Cases of Sexual Assault increased up to 2.4% in the last five years. Indecent assault, act of indecency and other sexual offences raised up to 4.4% in the same period, according to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research latest published report. Sex crimes are the only ones that registered growth, beside the "steal from retail store". All the other crime statistics went down.
Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett, said that there has also been a "steady increase" in sexual crimes in trains. The train is one of the places chosen by aggressors to approach their victims, usually women who are alone and, consequently, more vulnerable.
Brazilians told SBS Portuguese their stories of harassment and abuse. One of the women - who we called Rachel - had her name changed to protect her identity. At night, alone in the lower carriage of a train, Rachel was the victim of a sex crime. “After a couple of minutes that he was inside the train, I looked at him and I saw that he was touching himself looking at me. He was finishing the job, if I can say that, if that is clear enough. He was masturbating and he finished in the train seat.”
Rachel cried on her way home, feeling sad and powerless. "I felt really bad, like angry and also disgusted because it is a situation when you feel powerless. There’s not much you can do about it, and I just felt really bad that it happened to me", Rachel says.
Débora Meneses has been in Australia for only five months and she has also been a victim inside a train. “It also happened to me. There was a weird man following me on the platform and I walked away a few times. We entered an empty carriage, but he sat by my side. He took a tube of Vaseline from his pocket and he was waving it in front of my face.”
According to the Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, most women - and even young boys - were victims of sex crimes in trains, but they simply do not talk about it. Most people would have also witnessed some form of sexual abuse, yet they chose not to get involved.
The Executive Officer of Rape Services Australia, Karen Willis, and Detective Linda Howlett, explain how witnesses can react and stop the violence.
Here's what you can do
While they do not recommend stopping in personally in an unsafe environment, they says theres plenty people can do to assist both the person being attacked and, in some cases, even the police. The first rule to help is to do it safely. You do not want to be part of the violence that is being inflicted on the other, but you certainly want to stop it!
They recommend:
SBS Life: What to do if you witness a sexual crime
1.Embarrass the abuser
If there is a train full of people, just yelling at the bloke I saw what you did; cut it out is probably enough to stop the all situation
2.Engage other passengers in the action. If one person speaks up, others will
Stepping in between the two people, perhaps grabbing a couple of roommates and surrounding the bloke to say we saw that mate, bugger off
3.Make noises
Make a noise, kick up a fuss, give some sort of acknowledgment that you are seeing whats going on and you dont accept it
4.Approach the victim and sit by their side
Talk to them so they will feel less vulnerable knowing theyve got some support by their side
5.Move carriages
If it is only you and the victim, try to take them to another carriage or a busier part of the train, maybe closer to the guard
6.Filming and photographing
If the abuser sees you taking pictures or filming, it might be enough to stop the situation, and it will help the police to catch them
7.Press the emergency button
Use those to call the guards and alert them for what is going on
8.Exchange contact details with the victim
Giving them your phone number will help the victim to catch the offender. Do the same with any other witnesses present, because that will assist police with their investigations
9.Call the Police immediately 000
Police officers could be waiting for you on the next station
10.Report the incident immediately
"What we know with ethical bystanders is that if one person speaks up, others will step up to the market and support. You are very rarely on your own", says Karen.
Sydney Trains written statement:
"Sydney Trains takes any incident of unwanted sexual behaviour on our network seriously. We encourage anyone who feels uncomfortable on our trains due to the actions of others to report it to our staff immediately or contact NSW Police.
When unwanted sexual behaviour is experienced by a customer, our station staff are trained to, in the first instance, provide support and a safe place to talk. Staff are also trained to record as much detail as possible to help with police investigations.
When an incident is reported to our staff, we work closely with Police Transport Command who have powers to investigate and catch any offenders.
Our major stations are staffed during opening hours. On select trains and at all our stations, there are also emergency help points which are directly linked to our security team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also have more than 10,000 CCTV cameras monitoring our network.
If a member of the public feels they have not been given the support they need, we encourage them to contact Sydney Trains directly on 131 500 so we can investigate the incident."
