Report sexual harassment in London

If you've experienced sexual harassment in London, you can get support and help.

Sexual harassment can have a devastating impact on the confidence and lives of victims. Almost all women have been victims of sexual harassment at some time in their lives.

The Mayor is doing everything in his power to protect the right – of women and girls and all Londoners – to public spaces free from sexual violence and harassment.

You can help too by reporting any incidents of sexual harassment you experience or witness, and by reporting any places where Londoners feel at risk.

What you can do

What is sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is when someone carries out unwanted sexual behaviour towards another person that makes them feel unsafe, upset, scared, offended or humiliated. It can happen anywhere, in person and online.

Sexual harassment can include a wide range of behaviours such as:

catcalling or wolf whistling
leering or staring
unwanted touching, sexual advances or flirting
sending emails or texts with sexual content
sharing suggestive or indecent content in an online space.

Women typically experience sexual harassment more.

Find out how to call out inappropriate behaviour when you see it happen.

Report an incident

If you’re in urgent danger, call 999.

If you’ve experienced or witnessed sexual harassment, there are a number of ways to report it.

By phone: Call 999 in an emergency, or 101 in a non-emergency. 
In person:  At any police station with a front counter. 
Online: Report an incident to the Met .
Via the London Victims and Witness Service which can support people to report.
Anonymously via Crimestoppers.
For incidents on public transport, report via text to 61016 or download the free British Transport Police Railway Guardian app.

What happens when you report sexual harassment

Sexual harassment matters and it's important to report it. If you decide to report it to the police, they will take your report seriously. You can also report an incident anonymously, whether it happened to you or you witnessed it happen.

If incidents and unsafe spaces are reported then partners, including local councils and the Met police, can use the data and work together to reduce the risk. This helps make London’s public spaces safer for everyone to use and enjoy.

Report an unsafe area in London

Does an area feel unsafe to you?

If you don’t feel safe in a London area – perhaps due to anti-social behaviour, poor lighting, overgrown areas, broken fences, or old phone boxes, you can report it:

anonymously via Streetsafe or Crimestoppers
to some local councils, who may have their own ways to report.

Legs of a person walking alone on an empty grass path

Get support if you’ve experienced sexual harassment

Support is available for anyone who might need it:

London Victims and Witness Service provides free, confidential and independent support for adult victims and witnesses of crime.

How the Mayor has been tackling sexual harassment

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a top priority for the Mayor. In 2022 he published an updated Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

The Tackling VAWG Strategy sets out four key priority areas for action. These are:

preventing and reducing VAWG
supporting all victims and survivors
holding perpetrators to account
building trust and confidence.

Delivery of the commitments within each of these priority areas is being undertaken working collaboratively with partners, with the majority of commitments being in progress.

What we've done so far

Ending Gender-Based violence toolkit - available to every secondary school in London to help pupils recognise and tackle misogynistic behaviour.

A group of friends sitting down playing computer games together

Delivery of the multi award-winning ‘Have A Word’ and ‘Say Maaate to a Mate’ campaign.

Further investment and take-up of the the Women’s Night Safety Charter to support organisations that prioritise women’s safety.

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