WSP Changemaker & Transport Planner, Susan Leadbetter, is passionate about inclusivity in the built environment. She believes that engaging diverse groups of people from the beginning will help provide solutions to improve our public spaces and transport. In this article, she explains how a study into women’s safety helped inform a sexual harassment campaign published by the Transport for London.

Women's safety on public transport in London

Susan's dissertation as part of her WSP-sponsored studies included a questionnaire which was broken down into four components; demographics, travel habits, perceptions of safety, and personal experiences.

Susan also conducted one-to-one interviews with six women who had been subjected to sexual harassment and assault on public transport in London.

She wanted to understand how it impacted them and if they have changed their travel patterns as a result.

In her writing, Susan elaborates: "I found plenty of research about sexual harassment in the workplace, but only a couple of studies about sexual harassment on public transport and hardly any information about what makes women feel unsafe."

Read more about Susan's experience of working towards her dissertation. 

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