Did they report it to stop it? A realist evaluation of the effect of an advertising campaign on victims’ willingness to report unwanted sexual behaviour

Tackling unwanted sexual behaviour (USB) on public transport is a concern
for transit authorities across the world. However, high rates of underreporting
mean a lack of reliable information about USB, presenting a key barrier to
prevention. This paper presents a realist evaluation of an initiative called
‘Report It To Stop It’ (RITSI) implemented in London, UK, to tackle
underreporting. RITSI aimed to encourage victims to report details of USB
incidents to police and transit authorities through media campaigns. Results
show that the initiative did increase reporting of USB and, that this increase
was not due to a rise in the prevalence of USB. Crucially, there was no
evidence of any increase in passengers’ fear of crime during the campaign
activity. However, the impacts of this campaign were more pronounced in
earlier waves, and on certain modes of transport. These findings demonstrate
the importance of the context in motivating reporting behaviour change.