Yes, bystanders can save women from sexual assault. But I know first-hand that’s not always enough | Alexandra Heminsley

Violence against women on UK trains is increasing - no wonder, when courts often seem more concerned about the impact' on perpetrators than their victims

Violence against women on UK trains has risen by 50% in two years, it was reported this week. The news barely raised an eyebrow among my female friends, so commonplace are sexual assaults and aggressions on public transport. Society seems to be teetering at a crossroads, perilously close to accepting that being stroked, squeezed or grabbed at is just another mundanity of women's commutes. Grim, but not unlikely. And hardly a crime. Right?

Except it is. Of course it is. It's just that the system, from railways to courts, seems to have accepted otherwise.