Safer response on streets and public transport
Options for a person targeted by harassment, stalking or assault, for nearby passengers, and for transport staff—without making women responsible for preventing abuse.
In this guide
If you are being targeted
Choose the action that feels safest
You may move near other people or staff, change carriage, get off at a busy staffed place, call someone, use 112 or say ‘stop’ loudly. You do not have to confront, photograph or stay in place; freezing and compliance are common survival responses.
Make a specific request
If speaking is possible, point to one person: ‘You in the blue shirt, please stay with me and call the driver/police.’ Specific requests are easier for bystanders to act on than a general appeal in a confused crowd.
Protect your destination
If someone appears to be following you, avoid leading them to a private home. Move toward a staffed shop, station, police point or group and tell staff clearly that you are being followed. Call 112 for immediate danger.
Record later if that is safer
Note route, vehicle or carriage, registration, stop, time, description, witnesses and any ticket or app record. Evidence can help, but your safety matters more than filming the person.
If you witness harassment
Check in with the targeted person
Move alongside and ask, ‘Would you like to sit here?’ or ‘Do you want me to call staff?’ Follow their lead where possible; do not demand that they explain or report in public.
Use one of several bystander routes
Directly name the behaviour if safe, distract with an ordinary question, delegate to driver or security, document only with consent and without posting, or stay afterward. Avoid escalating into a physical fight that traps the targeted person.
Create a buffer and an exit
Invite other passengers to move, ask the driver to stop at a staffed point, stand between at a safe distance, or accompany the person to their chosen next place. Do not insist on taking them home or obtain personal details they do not want to share.
What transport institutions should do
Train staff for action, not disbelief
Drivers, conductors, station and security staff need a short protocol: listen, separate immediate risk, call appropriate help, preserve available operational records, offer a private waiting place and explain complaint options.
Design clear reporting at the point of harm
Display legible routes and vehicle identifiers, provide accessible alarms or staff contact, light stops and interchange paths, and allow reporting without forcing a passenger to publicly repeat sexual details.
Retain relevant operational records
When an incident is reported, preserve available CCTV, ticketing, duty roster, GPS and complaint records under a defined process. Tell the person how to request records or acknowledgement and avoid promising that footage exists or proves the event.
Measure repeat risk
Review recurring routes, stops, times, staff responses and access barriers. Publish non-identifying improvements and place responsibility on perpetrators and systems, not on restricting women’s travel times or clothing.
Words you can use
A bystander check-in
You see someone being followed or harassed
“I noticed that person is bothering you. Would you like me to stay, call transport staff, or help you move somewhere safer?”
Related issue guides
Sources and publication record
Reviewed and approved by the project team · Sources checked .
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023India Code, Legislative Department
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023India Code, Legislative Department
- Emergency Response Support System 112Ministry of Home Affairs
- Women Helpline 181Ministry of Women and Child Development
- Free legal services and National Legal Aid Helpline 15100National Legal Services Authority