Camilla Brown has had enough. “I’ve grown up in London and using the Tube has been vital to my daily life […] I’ve had enough of women being unsafe and feeling like I can’t do anything to change that”.
9,000 Londoners have signed her petition calling on Transport for London (TfL) to introduce women-only carriages on the Tube.
The 21 year-old UCL student has one goal: making a change to enhance tube safety for women and girls.
Camilla told City News: “My hope is that London becomes a city for women, not women having to fit into society. We have so much power to push meaningful change”.
“We always see it, we do say it, but it’s still not sorted”, she said about TFL’s approach to women’s safety.
Five sex offences on public transport each day
According to recent TfL statistics, 907 offences were recorded during the first half of 2025 across their public transport network – compared to the 879 recorded in the same period in 2024. This works out to be an average five cases a day.
Other figures from TFL show that sexual offences on London’s transport network rose by 10.5% in 2024.
Brixton underground station at night SOURCE: public domain. Wikimedia Commons
Why TfL won’t introduce women-only carriages
TfL has rejected Camilla’s call of introducing of female-only carriages on the Tube.
“Everyone should feel and be safe when travelling across the network, but isolating women is not the answer to tackling sexual offences” said Siwan Hayward, TFL’s Director of Security, Policy and Enforcement.
“We do not support any proposal for female-only carriages on TFL carriages”, she said.
“Women and girls should feel able to come forward and report any incident, confident that they will be taken seriously”.
This poster, outside Earl’s Court station, aims to raise awareness of reporting sexual assault
Camilla doesn’t agree: “The fact that they’re encouraging women and girls to come forward after the fact is acknowledging that there is a serious problem.
“London infrastructure is appalling, and it is structured so that women are often taken advantage of.
“I’m bored of the bureaucratic ‘no’ – I would be more understanding if there was a ‘but’ after this […] but I am yet to hear of a convincing alternative strategy.”
Safety enhancement or segregation tool?
City News spoke to commuters about Camilla’s petition: is this a valid solution to help women feel safer on public transport or will it promote segregation?
“The single sex thing doesn’t necessarily lead to inclusion for everyone […] It could be a problem for trans women, non-binary people or even trans men who may feel safer in a women-only environment. How could this be managed? I think the creepy people would try to sneak in […] When I was little a few things happen to me on the Tube and it was often actually men that came to protect me”
Emma, PhD student
“I was not aware of this petition, but I think it would be a great idea, especially at night. When you come back after a night out, as a woman, you often feel unsafe so I think it could be a great solution for women’s safety”
Cindy, a dance teacher
Single-sex carriages exist across the world
A women-only carriage in Japan. SOURCE: Bex Walton, Wikimedia Commons
Japan, Brazil and UAE have already introduced female-only carriages on their transport network, but this appears to be unlikely to be adopted in the capital.
However, Camilla’s campaign to improve women’s safety on London’s tube network continues in the hope of convincing TfL.
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HeadlineThousands call on TfL to introduce women-only Tube carriages
Short HeadlineThousands call on TfL for female-only Tube carriages
Standfirst“My hope is that London becomes a city for women, not women having to fit into society," says student campaigner Camilla Brown.
Camilla Brown has had enough. “I’ve grown up in London and using the Tube has been vital to my daily life […] I’ve had enough of women being unsafe and feeling like I can’t do anything to change that”.
9,000 Londoners have signed her petition calling on Transport for London (TfL) to introduce women-only carriages on the Tube.
The 21 year-old UCL student has one goal: making a change to enhance tube safety for women and girls.
Camilla told City News: “My hope is that London becomes a city for women, not women having to fit into society. We have so much power to push meaningful change”.
“We always see it, we do say it, but it’s still not sorted”, she said about TFL’s approach to women’s safety.
Five sex offences on public transport each day
According to recent TfL statistics, 907 offences were recorded during the first half of 2025 across their public transport network – compared to the 879 recorded in the same period in 2024. This works out to be an average five cases a day.
Other figures from TFL show that sexual offences on London’s transport network rose by 10.5% in 2024.
Brixton underground station at night SOURCE: public domain. Wikimedia Commons
Why TfL won’t introduce women-only carriages
TfL has rejected Camilla’s call of introducing of female-only carriages on the Tube.
“Everyone should feel and be safe when travelling across the network, but isolating women is not the answer to tackling sexual offences” said Siwan Hayward, TFL’s Director of Security, Policy and Enforcement.
“We do not support any proposal for female-only carriages on TFL carriages”, she said.
“Women and girls should feel able to come forward and report any incident, confident that they will be taken seriously”.
This poster, outside Earl’s Court station, aims to raise awareness of reporting sexual assault
Camilla doesn’t agree: “The fact that they’re encouraging women and girls to come forward after the fact is acknowledging that there is a serious problem.
“London infrastructure is appalling, and it is structured so that women are often taken advantage of.
“I’m bored of the bureaucratic ‘no’ – I would be more understanding if there was a ‘but’ after this […] but I am yet to hear of a convincing alternative strategy.”
Safety enhancement or segregation tool?
City News spoke to commuters about Camilla’s petition: is this a valid solution to help women feel safer on public transport or will it promote segregation?
“The single sex thing doesn’t necessarily lead to inclusion for everyone […] It could be a problem for trans women, non-binary people or even trans men who may feel safer in a women-only environment. How could this be managed? I think the creepy people would try to sneak in […] When I was little a few things happen to me on the Tube and it was often actually men that came to protect me”
Emma, PhD student
“I was not aware of this petition, but I think it would be a great idea, especially at night. When you come back after a night out, as a woman, you often feel unsafe so I think it could be a great solution for women’s safety”
Cindy, a dance teacher
Single-sex carriages exist across the world
A women-only carriage in Japan. SOURCE: Bex Walton, Wikimedia Commons
Japan, Brazil and UAE have already introduced female-only carriages on their transport network, but this appears to be unlikely to be adopted in the capital.
However, Camilla’s campaign to improve women’s safety on London’s tube network continues in the hope of convincing TfL.
