Safer Streets 100 Women

British Isles. It is a brighter

scene for the North. -- further

north.

Now on BBC News,

the 100 Women Challenge

is in London and Nairobi,

investigating assaults on women

using public transport.

We are challenging themes of women

in four locations around the world

to tackle everyday from up like

their lives. In the workplace... In

education. And public transport.

And on the sports field.

Using BBC outlets, the teams can

appeal to help from around

the world.

They have just one week to find

a modern solution to a

long-standing issue.

Welcome to the BBC's

100 Women challenge

2017.

Millions of women experience street

harassment around the world.

There is an ocean of viral videos

from groping to wolf whistling,

street harassment can

be verbal or physical.

Rush hour in this transport hub.

Around three and a half

million commuters

every day swarm in.

Cramming into packed trains.

A survey found 51% of women

in London felt at risk of

harassment on public transport.

The global problem

is so vast that it

does seem insurmountable.

But is it really unsolvable?

I'm here in central London

to host a hackathon.

For girls like me, not quite clued

up on their Urban Dictionary

definition, it's where experts come

together, form teams around a

problem and collaboratively

find unique solution.

Can bright minds actually sold

harassment on public

transport?

We've gathered a team of experts

from very different fields

to find ground-breaking

solutions, and tackle

street harassment head on.

Today they will brainstorm

with an audience from around

the world, then they've got just one

week to design,

test and implement solutions.

Let's meet the team.

At the London Transport

Museum, we've invited an

audience to participate in this

hackathon which will be broadcast

live on BBC radio around the world.

In the crowd, I meet

our team of experts.

Each bring a unique superpower

to the table which, when

combined, have the potential to make

real, lasting change.

Ellie is an engineer.

She lectures in urban innovation

in policy, working and

making spaces safer for women.

Laura is the founder of advertising

agency, Mr President.

You are all so eager,

I'm just going to go on for a

bit longer.

Anne-Marie co-founded

an organisation inspires the

next generation of girls in science,

technology, engineering and maths.

From a wish to control.

Academic Liz co-chairs

the End Violence

Against Women coalition in the UK.

And last but by no means least,

Hannah, she's a retired London Tube

driver and mouth a power lifter.

She's competed in

World's Strongest Woman.

Don't mess with her.

Shortly after the hack begins,

problems with current solutions are

laid bare.

I only this year was sexually

assaulted on the tube.

I was going up

an escalator and a man

followed me, repeatedly touching me

even though it to move away.

I ended up having to

give the same statement

three times which, having to repeat

that three times to three different

people, is pretty harrowing.

I can't talk about the

specific case and am

you shouldn't have

had that experience.

The whole setup of this

is that the police are set up to

take reports, to support victims,

support women of experiences through

the criminal justice system

if they choose to go that way.

Shortly after the hack begins,

problems with current solutions are

laid bare.

I only this year was sexually

assaulted on the tube.

I was going up

an escalator and a man

followed me, repeatedly touching me

even though it to move away.

I ended up having to

give the same statement

three times which, having to repeat

that three times to three different

people, is pretty harrowing.

As the discussion continued,

one idea grew stronger.

Perhaps the solution

doesn't resolve around the

victims or offenders

but is about fellow

passengers intervening

when

they see harassment?

We met on a west London bus

when I was assaulted

on a bus and someone stepped in.

And I, yeah.

No one interferes, people tend

to think it's an issue on the side,

let's let it slide.

But wonder if you let

it slide, it may not

directly affect you, it might

affect your mother or your sister.

I'm afraid we'll have

to leave it there

because we have

to end the programme.

We could keep on talking forever

but it's a great start to

the week...

With what felt like a bombardment

of ideas, the team has

their work cut out

for them this week.

As the sun sets over London,

I can't help thinking about the

mammoth task ahead.

This is BBC Radio 4

and now it's time for

Woman's Hour.

Warly-morning commuters set

off for the day ahead.

This is the very week

that the hashtag #MeToo went viral.

It was a way for women

to tag and share their

experiences of harassment.

This week, we are taking

over the Machine Room in

east London's Maker Mile, an area

full of workshops and art studio.

Before yesterday I was

like, it'll be fun.

Try some stuff up, whatever

but actually, after

yesterday, this is a

moment that we can...

We can make a difference.

I know you want to get

started, so walk this way.

And right on time...

Your bus.

We have hired this bus for the week.

The team can use it how

they wish to exhibit and test

potential solutions.

This is your space to play with it.

Exactly.

This is going to be

right here for you.

You can do what you like.

Yeah, why not?

It's going to be really interesting

now we have the bus in

real life here to take apart and put

back together as we see fit.

I was just feeling

really overwhelmed,

this is a big challenge.

Now we have a big, massive toy.

And I'm an engineer

so a big machine to muck

about with, it's very exciting.

So I want to play with the buttons,

all of course in the name

of research.

I'm excited to work

with this group of women

because I think there

is an

alchemy.

We come from different

industries, different ways of

thinking.

So I guess this morning will be,

how are we going to stop

harassment and at what point?

Are we going to do

something around that

point of being harassed, are

we going to look at how we change

social norms before that happens?

OK.

Assault alarm, what does that do?

If you're being

assaulted, you push it.

Who does that send a message to?

Everyone within earshot.

Is that on every bus?

Pretty much.

Ideas flowing,

the team head inside to

discuss the solutions

they want to work on this week.

Building on yesterday's

hack, a strong solution

emerges.

The concept resolve around

the community of passengers

travelling on buses and trains.

How do we almost build

some sort of social,

immediate social structure

so when you get on this bus you are

immediately part of this team.

And how do you nudge

people to then take

responsibility as part of that team?

Because everyone is primed, not just

victims being primed, then we are

all doing this together, it's not

just ask versus them it's all us

together.

We need people to stand up

and say yes, it's awful.

This happened to me.

But I'm not alone.

I will not be alone.

The team will collaborate

on the central concept

of finding ways to change the

community's behaviour so that they

act together against harassment.

Laura is working on

messaging and design.

Anne-Marie will work up

a technological solution.

For women to signal

distress using a batch.

Professor Liz will work on how those

passengers can then safely and

effectively step in to

deal with the harasser.

Train driver Hannah will focus

on the inside of the bus.

But Ellie the engineer leaves

the discussion still unsure of her

solution.

Time is ticking...

At the end of the week,

we will reveal the

team's solution on the bus to

an audience in central London's busy

Covent Garden.

An audience will put it to the test.

Will the results of their hard

work really start to

solve harassment on a global scale?

To achieve all they want to this

week, they can't do it

alone.

They need help from

passionate volunteers.

So Hannah collaborates

with an artist Lela

Eleanor Smith who has travelled down

from Scotland to help out.

Obviously with the week,

it is constrained as

well.

We can't achieve a plea in a week

redesign and we can to get a

whole bus and tear it

apart and do that.

I think it would be really good

to do a visual kind of

projection of what is happening.

As the team pack up for the night,

there is still so much work

to be done.

Despite starting the day full

of ideas, no tangible progress

has been made.

In order for the printers to get

the design stand for the

bus, the team must

send off work today.

But they haven't even

started the design.

Without a concrete design

for the bus, Laura is quick

to call punting team to try

and extend the deadline.

They think the problem

we have is we really only

start work yesterday morning.

I'm hoping that...

We will get free stuff quickly

as we can but it will

only be end of today rather

than lunchtime unfortunately.

End of today, I don't

think we can do it.

For Friday?

We've got to get

you printed remember?

Yeah.

I don't want to be awkward,

I just don't want to

get you down.

I totally...

I totally understand.

We would go as fast as we can

as well, we are and are quite

a lot of pressure the side.

Yeah, let's start.

Meanwhile, Anne-Marie has got

a deadline of her own.

In order to get the badges

made, she is joined by

Arundhati and Nadine,

Electrical engineers

that have just 24 hours

to

produce prototype badges.

But the concept isn't

exactly crystal clear.

So the brief is that

it's the person,

were helping the person

that is attacked.

Then then your badge...

As a victim can make you wouldn't

necessarily have a badge.

You have the activator

but not badge.

They would yell?

Does that make sense?

If they could make

a scene, they would make

the scene.

Anne-Marie possibly ground-breaking

idea revolves around

connecting the community

of passengers.

When the victim presses a panic

button, or app, passengers'

badges will light up,

alerting them to the problem.

With the concept as clear

as mud, Anne-Marie drops

another bombshell.

Surprise.

In theory, your deadline

would be tomorrow.

Laura's advertising

team have had a light

bulb moment.

The idea comes from Miranda,

a junior creative as

Laura's agency.

You have to commute that is such

a problem on the train

anyway.

We watch the video this morning

about a month shouting that

this woman, everyone was silent.

Unmute the Commute is

quite good actually.

Unmute the Commute?

That's quite cool actually.

Unmute the Commute is

a concept that not only

encourages victims to speak out

but also asks fellow passengers to

step in.

Artist Leila's installation

involves so many

Anna and Susannah to

help

get it done.

The concept involves

foam, a lot of foam.

So the plan we have

at the moment is to cut some

hand shapes out to go into this

stairwell so you have to wage your

way through these foam hands to get

to the art installation.

It's representative of the kind

of invasion of interpersonal space.

A key part of the team's message

of unmute the commute is the idea of

the passenger's pledge.

That they will step

in when they see harassment.

So Professor Liz has

asked Katie from

activist group Hollaback to hold one

of their workshops which teach

people about safe ways to intervene.

They hope these workshops which they

teach around the world will

encourage people from being just

passive bystanders into actively

intervening.

Actually talking to a TfL

member of staff is

a good idea or even

British Transport Police.

A lot of us aren't that

comfortable engaging with the

police.

Particularly people of colour,

particularly LGBTQ people,

migrants, anyone with an insecure

status who could be a victim of one

of these kinds of crimes.

That's kind of why this bystander

intervention stuff is so important,

because we need to

rely on each other.

As the day nears a close, LED

engineer finally finds her stride.

Following an from her slogan that

Laura's team came up with, Unmute

the Commute, Ellie wants to create

a soundscape of victim's story.

She has recruited

her theatre create a

friend Imogen Butler-Cole, to help.

The idea of unmuting is really

nice because it's about

activation and making noise,

it's about being heard.

Hi there, how's it going?

I think it's getting there.

What we want to do on Friday is have

to hear the soundscape on the bus.

So we'd need speakers

around the bus.

And then we would just play it.

And let people in that space

here what has happened to other

people in that space and then sort

of end with an invitation

to do something.

That is where we are.

OK, it sounds really good.

Sounds like lot though.

It's Wednesday.

They've got to get this

pretty much finished by

tomorrow, can we manage that?

Um, yes.

I'm incredibly confident.

Well, I'm convinced.

Come and see.

Around the corner in

the workshop, Anna and

Susanna are busy cutting hands.

The foam variety, luckily.

I think they are really nice.

How they just stand up like that.

The first attempt

did not go so well.

No template meant

disastrous looking hands.

Now there is a wooden

template, things

are going a lot more smoothly.

We just need 50 more

to do or something?

Seriously?

But with the bus looking decidedly

untransformed, all the work must

happen tomorrow if it is going to be

ready for the big reveal on Friday.

It's crunch time.

Our final day of prep

and the workshop is a hive of

activity.

Hundreds of Unmute the Commute

badges are being laser cut.

This is our first badge.

Oh my goodness.

Oh look, no way!

And right on time, the printing

team arrives with the

vinyls.

Hi, Laura.

Nice to meet you.

Hi, Nancy.

Amazing.

About three or four hours.

Thank you.

Well Tony gets stuck in,

across London, I meet

Ellie at the BBC where she is

recording and mixing the soundscape

project today.

This is an incredibly

personal project for her.

She recalled a day

six years ago that

she has never forgotten.

It was about 8am,

it was so busy and I'd seen this man

help what I thought was his

girlfriend on to the two,

kind of touching her quite

intimately on the lower back.

I felt him pressed up against me.

I felt him getting aroused.

So Ellie responded in the way

she felt most natural.

She danced on the Tube and posted

the video on YouTube.

There is no way I was going to stand

up and do a big speech about it.

But I decided to dance it.

That was just what made sense to me.

The video went viral.

I obviously knew people would see it

and people would have

an opinion about it.

But that wasn't really ever

the point, it was about

an expression of myself.

OK, go for it.

Ellie invites collaborators

to record the stories

of real account that the campaign

group Hollaback created.

Real testimonies from victims

and bystanders from around

the world are read out.

As I stood up, one of the two

standing guys grabbed and squeezed

my crotch through my skirt.

I'm not sure why but I almost

froze on the spot and I

didn't say anything.

The rush-hour crowd,

two were standing

over me.

I'm totally unaware that this

stuff might be going on.

Then Ellie decides

she wants to step up

and record her own story.

It made me feel on edge

and over time I got

increasingly angry,

this is not my issue,

this should not be women's

issue, we should be able to move

around and go to work, go to

school in freedom.

This is our body, our space,

and we should have

the right to live in it.

Across town at the base,

Leila is racing to get

the art installation finished

on the inside of the bus.

At the same time, Tony

is working away on the

outside the bus.

Meanwhile, the electronics

to the Unmute the

Commute badges must be

soldered on quickly.

Today, Anne-Marie's organisation

is holding a business

confidence event for hundreds

of teenage girls in London.

It is the perfect place

to test the buttons.

So we asked a few of

the students what they thought.

The idea is that you will be

notified that something

is happening around you and somebody

is in need of help.

I think the idea is really good.

Doing it in a discrete way

allows the person to have

time to think about how

they

will help you rather than act

on impulse which may cause something

drastic to happen.

It's a great idea but it should

have something like a

GPS location.

When women are harassed,

usually the first reaction

is what were you wearing?

Probably brought it on yourself.

This allows women to

help other women in

a really discreet way.

The badge was later presented

to TfL who said they will

consider implementing it.

Perhaps this is the start

of a real solution.

Time will tell.

But time is something

the rest of the team

don't have.

Night draws in and they

are forced to pack up.

With thousands of tourists flooding

through Covent Garden tomorrow, what

will the verdict be on the bus?

5am, Lynne, our bus driver arrives.

Bright and early.

The crowd arrive.

Time to reveal all.

Ta-da, look what you've done!

Isn't that incredible?

It should be on every bus.

So excited.

I'm so thrilled that it's done.

And we have fantastic

ideas, the concept,

the buttons, I can't wait

to see at the top of the bus.

Everyone's working towards a common

goal and in just a week you can come

up with something.

So much money,

so much brainstorming.

You get passionate people

together, after a week...

Why don't we head

into the bus and get a

better look?

Oh, wow.

As people crowd inside

the bus, they have the

worm their way through the art

installation of hands.

Up to the top deck where more

hang down in their way.

On headphones, passengers listen

to the testimonies that Ellie

recorded yesterday.

Everywhere you go,

you are reminded of what it

feels like to be harassed.

Focusing on others and

the bystander in this

case might be a way for us to tackle

an old problem in a new way.

As part of Ellie's

testimony project, she

has choreographed the

words to a new dance.

He just kept his head down and got

off at the next station.

Then I sat down and tried to stop

myself from shaking.

I even felt embarrassed

I stood up to this man.

It's actually a very powerful

experience, this hand

shapes as you go up the stairs

and then they are hanging down.

But what was most

powerful was hearing the

accounts of women and then Ellie

doing her dance performance upstairs

on the bus.

The two together were

really profoundly moving.

It's absolutely fantastic what has

been done in one week.

I think I'm running

on fumes by now as far

as the mental side goes but I'm

absolutely so positive and I feel

that we are really making a start.

There is a huge way to go on this.

There seems to be anyway a wave

of awareness that is coming.

That is here.

Will you pledge to take action?

Make a pledge to Unmute the Commute.

The sun sets over London.

It is time to take stock.

When we started out,

I was thinking the problem

is global, it's far too

huge, what are we realistically

going to get done in five weeks?

huge, what are we realistically

going to get done in five days?

But these women I've met this

week are inspirational.

Past solutions have either

been about the victim or

the perpetrator but they've made

this about the community.

It doesn't matter where

you go in the world,

you will find community and if this

week has taught me anything at all,

it is that by working together,

globally, we can solve any problem.