Survey finds one-third of women suffered sex crime on MTR
Assaults go unreported by victims, who fear disrupting passengers and say police do little
More than a third of women surveyed by a rape crisis organisation say they have been victims of a sexual crime while either travelling on board an MTR train or passing through a station. But none alerted police, with many saying that making a report was a waste of time.
The survey, conducted online and via questionnaires handed out over the last two months, received 533 responses - 387 from women and 146 from men.
Of the women, 139 - or 36 per cent - said they had fallen victim to some form of sexual crime. Most said they had been assaulted, while some were unwilling witnesses to indecent exposure or lewd acts; others said men had tried to take invasive photographs of them.
Less than 10 per cent sought help from people nearby.
When asked why they didn't take action, more than half said they were afraid of being blamed by other passengers if they caused the train to be delayed, for example; while a quarter said a report wouldn't help.