Woman praises stranger on Tube for warning her of man’s creepy behaviour

Jaya Pathak shared her experience online to help other women know they aren’t alone (Picture: Jaya Pathak)

A woman has shared her experience of harassment on a busy Tube carriage – where no one intervened except one woman.

Jaya Pathak was travelling on a Victoria Line service when a man followed her, sat next to her and pretended to fall asleep on her – before mouthing for her to ‘join him’.

A bystander alerted her to what the man was doing, and stayed with her until she reached her destination – saying she’s had a similar experience.

The story went viral on X at the weekend, sparking further discussion about women’s safety on the tube, as well as bystander intervention.

Ms Pathak told Metro.co.uk: ‘He kept pretending to fall asleep. But it was evident he wasn’t asleep, he was just doing it to make me uncomfortable. I looked at him and nudged him and pushed him away from me.’

By the time the train reached Blackhorse Road, before Ms Pathak’s destination of Walthamstow Central, the man got off the train – but stood on the platform staring at her and mouthing for her to join him as the train was held at the platform for a few minutes.

It was at this point that the other passenger intervened.

Ms Pathak, 26, said: ‘She was just staring him down and she said to me “Do you know him?” and I said no. She said, “Yeah, I thought you didn’t.”

‘The man continued to stare at us both as the train pulled out of the station.’

Ms Pathak had been intimidated by her experience, and shed light on it (Picture: Shutterstock)

She added: ‘I remain humbled by that woman’s unhesitating kindness and bravery. Sisterhood is genuinely everything.’

But Ms Pathak has said her encounter has made her question the staffing levels at less busy TfL stations, where she says she could have easily been overpowered by the man if he attempted something more severe.

She explained: ‘Now, let’s say in a worse horrific situation case scenario, I got off at Blackhorse Road as well – there was nobody out there. If he wanted to overpower me and do anything, he could do anything on that platform.

‘There was no one there and no one would be present to know what’s happening.’

Ms Pathak also said that during her ordeal, texting British Transport Police had been the last thing on her mind.

She added: ‘They are very prompt, though. But I think we need more TfL staff who are trained to deal with these situations and just be aware that quieter places could be an area where men take advantage of women.

‘I just think that physical presence makes people feel more safe. And I think that had been that was one of the reasons it was even more intimidating for me.

The train service had been packed when the incident occurred (Picture: Getty)

‘I just didn’t know the area and I didn’t see any staff on the platform. So there was no one I could run to had he done something to me when I got off.’

British Transport Police retweeted Ms Pathak’s experience and added: ‘The behaviour described in this thread is totally unacceptable.

‘Well done to the quick-thinking witness who helped Jaya. If you see or experience anything like this, we urge you to report by texting 61016 or using the Railway Guardian app.’

TfL has been approached for comment.

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Women’s safety on public transport has been a topic of discussion for years – and peaked after a 20-year-old woman was raped in front of passengers on a busy tube carriage last year, with no intervention.

Ryan Johnston was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting and raping the woman, who was returning home from an evening out with friends.

In 2022, Metro.co.uk shared the nearly 200 women’s harrowing experiences of stalking, groping, masturbation and worse on public transport.

Some 81% of them said people witnessed what happened to them, but no one intervened.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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