Background

In early 2022, the Minister for Transport announced a consultation on the safety of women and girls on public transport, including both public transport users and those working within the public transport system in Scotland. The Scottish Government subsequently undertook a programme of research exploring personal safety issues on the Scottish public transport system, including an in-depth qualitative study with female transport workers, and women and girls using public transport. The report on this work, ‘Women's and girls' views and experiences of personal safety when using public transport’ was published on 7 March 2023.

A Parliamentary Debate was held on 8 March 2023 to coincide with the report. The motion from this, which was agreed by a majority in the chamber that day, was that operators, police authorities and other stakeholders adopt the recommendations contained in the report and committed the Scottish Government to work with stakeholders to make Scotland’s public transport safer for women and girls