In this post, I am going to discuss my intended target market for my advertising campaign on women's safety, this will be millenials. I have chosen this group as they are the largest target market and also they the most mobile and they have the largest workforce, therefore they spend much of their time using public transport, which is the focus of my safety campaign. Prudential States; 'Unlike the generation before them, lots of millennials had working mothers as well as fathers who helped at home, and even those in more traditional families got the message that equality is possible and important.' (Prudential, 2015) As millennial women do have an attitude that they can 'have it all' they are often very busy trying to juggle home life, children and a full-time job this means they spend much of their time travelling and often alone.
The Office of National Statistics carried out a survey about the perceptions of personal safety and experience of harassment in the UK, this states; 'more women (27%) than men (16%) reported they had experienced at least one form of harassment in the previous 12 months' (Elkin, 2022) This survey was taken in 2022. This states that women are clearly more often harrassed when out in public places alone. It goes on to state that: 'more people had stopped walking in quiet places such as “parks or open spaces” after dark in the last month because of feeling unsafe; an increase in both men (from 18% to 24%) and women (from 32% to 37%)' (Elkin, 2022). this idea that people change their behaviour because of feeling unsafe particularly women backs up that this advertising campaign for safety of public transport is important. It also makes me consider further what my message is about this campaign. It is awareness but also I think it needs to offer something, perhaps safety advice and equipment for free, so I will add more so the message and the charity show clearly what they do.
With this in mind I looked at what was being done already and there is an academic Professor Andy Newton who is studying this issue of women on public transport. As he stated this is actually a complex issue and there are high levels of underreporting and he states that in 'part of the reason that women and girls don’t report incidents is because they think nothing will be done, or don’t know who or where to report it to' (Walter, 2024). People are also disinclined to involve themselves or help women as they feel if they do they may also become a target. London Transport has a poster campaign already that 'produced a series of posters pointing out what to look out for in terms of sexual harassment, which provides a good template for other operators to follow.' (Walter, 2024) This is a good start but again I do think my own campaign needs to be for not just London but National and that the charity I have created 'Sentinel' could offer something more in terms of advice and safety equipment such as personal alarms. It is illegal in the UK to carry pepper spray or anything that may cause harm (Richman, 2022). So an alarm is acceptable and you are allowed to defend yourself so perhaps links to local self-defence classes for women.
Looking at this research has helped me to explore further this issue and think about what could really help women on public transport in the UK. I will use these ideas for my campaign poster and I do think adding a QR code with further information and help will enable me to give advice and help to women when travelling alone.
References
Prudential (2015). Millennials and Gender: A Major Attitude Shift. [online] theatlantic.com. Available at: https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/prudential-sleeping-giants/millennials-and-gender-a-major-attitude-shift/467/ [Accessed 10 Oct. 2024].
Elkin, M. (2022). Perceptions of personal safety and experiences of harassment, Great Britain: 16 February to 13 March 2022.
Walter, M. (2024). Meet the Academic striving to make transport safer for women and girls. [online] Connected Places Catapult. Available at: https://cp.catapult.org.uk/article/meet-the-academic-striving-to-make-transport-safer-for-women-and-girls/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2024].
Richman, D. (2022). Defend Yourself Legally | Avoid These Incriminating acts. [online] Stuart Miller Solicitors. Available at: https://www.stuartmillersolicitors.co.uk/self-defence-laws-guide/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2024].
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