Britain mulls segregated train carriages

The United Kingdom is considering women-only carriages on its trains following a rise in the number of railway related sexual offenses.

British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Claire Perry made the announcement on Monday at a conference in Birmingham.

Perry also said that she was “absolutely determined,” to do whatever was necessary to rise commuter safety and lower the number of assaults.

While asked about women-only carriages she said, “It is a very interesting question and I will look at all ideas.”

“They have introduced women-only seating in Japan because there is a particular problem with groping and low-level violence,” she said.

Also in countries such as Thailand, India and Brazil women-only cars can be found on selected trains.

According to the British Transport Police (BTP)’s latest figures, there has been a sharp rise in the number of railway-related sexual offences over the past few years.

The BTP said that they had recorded 1,117 accounts of sexual assault in 2014, a 21 percent rise on the 925 accounts compared to 2013.

SRK/MAM/AS