A third of girls avoid taking public transport alone over safety fears, survey finds

Almost a third of girls and young women have avoided taking public transport alone out of fear for their safety, a major survey has found, with more than half reporting feeling unsafe when travelling on their own.

The latest Girls’ Attitudes Survey from Girlguiding found that 56% of girls and young women aged between 11 and 21 said they feel unsafe taking public transport by themselves, up from 45% in 2022, while 31% said they have avoided it altogether.

The research revealed that disabled girls particularly felt unsafe travelling, with only 17% saying they felt secure on public transport compared to almost double that percentage of non-disabled girls (33%).

Most girls (86%) said they have avoided going out when it is dark to stay safe, with girls of colour more likely not to step out, while almost half (48%) saying they never head out in the dark.

The latest annual survey, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, also found 68% change their everyday behaviour to avoid being sexually harassed.

Different people made different adjustments, with 32% of the 11-21-year-olds surveyed saying they have changed the clothes they wear, 28% have avoided places where they used to socialise and 12% have changed where they do exercise.

The survey also explored misogyny in schools, with more than half of girls aged 11-18 (58%) saying they have experienced male pupils making toxic comments while 32% reported having seen a teacher or member of staff receiving sexist or misogynistic abuse.

One in ten girls aged 11-16 said they do not feel safe at school, which rises to more than two in ten for LGBT+ girls and three in ten for disabled girls, while 10% said they had intentionally missed school to lower the risk of experiencing sexual harassment, a figure which doubles for disabled girls (21%) and rises to 18% for neurodivergent and LGBT+ girls.

And more than half of girls in that same age group (54%) agreed that girls have to be careful about appearing too self-confident in front of boys in school otherwise they might open themselves up to abuse or mean comments, with 18% saying they have pretended to be less smart than they are.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of the girls said they want more discussion about consent in schools.

Among the younger years, a third of girls aged seven to ten (32%) said they have experienced a comment from boys at school that made them feel uncomfortable while 17% said boys at school regularly comment on the bodies of girls and young women.

Girlguiding called on local authorities and schools to publish plans aimed at tackling misogyny in the community and for politicians in charge of public transport to engage with girls on their fears and make services safer.

Acting chief executive Amanda Azeez said: “Although a lot of progress has been made in creating an equal world, reading these stark findings makes us realise that in some areas, like the treatment and behaviour that girls’ face, things sadly haven’t changed at all.

“Girls are not being treated equally and are consistently made to feel like they’re not enough.

“This is not only impacting affecting their mental health but stopping them from being themselves.

“To ensure girls’ safety and to tackle this issue, action needs to happen now, starting with listening to and involving girls and young women in how to address this.

“Girls should be able to rely on decision makers to keep them safe, as well as their peers for support.”

– A total of 2,640 girls and young women aged between seven and 21 took part in the 2025 Girlguiding Girls’ Attitudes Survey.