Safety on Public Transport: Support Links and Privacy Notice

Who to contact if you have been affected by any of the issues in the survey and need support

Victim Support: Provides help and information for anyone who has been affected by a crime, including a violent or sexual assault, or is wary about involving the police. They can put you in touch with a local Victim Support Scheme.
Tel: 08 08 16 89 111 (they also have a 24/7 live chat service)
Website: www.victimsupport.org.uk
Victim Support Scotland: Free and confidential support for anyone affected by crime in Scotland.
Tel: 0800 160 1985
Website: https://victimsupport.scot/
Crimestoppers UK: You can contact anonymously with information about crime.
Tel: 0800 555 111
Website: www.crimestoppers-uk.org/
Galop: Support for LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violence.
Tel: 0800 999 5428
Website: https://galop.org.uk/
Mankind Initiative: Offers support, advice and counselling for male victims of sexual abuse, assault, rape or violence.
Tel: 0808 800 1170
Website: www.mankind.org.uk
Mind: A support line providing a safe space for people to talk about their mental health and wellbeing.
Tel: 0300 102 1234
Website: www.mind.org.uk/information-support
National Male Survivor Helpline: Provides dedicated services for male survivors of sexual violence for both adults and children in England and Wales.
Tel: 0808 800 5005
Website: www.safeline.org.uk
NHS Mental Health and Wellbeing: Offers information and support for those experiencing stress, anxiety and depression
Website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression
National Stalking Helpline: Operated by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the helpline gives practical information, support and advice on risk, safety planning and legislation to victims of stalking, their friends and family.
Tel: 0800 802 0300
Website: www.suzylamplugh.org/
Rape Crisis England and Wales: Offers support and specialist services for women and girls who have been raped and/or experienced any other form of sexual violence at any time.
Tel: 0808 500 2222
Website: www.rapecrisis.org.uk/
Rape Crisis Scotland: A helpline to provide support and information for anyone affected by sexual violence.
Tel: 08088 01 03 02
Website: www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
Safeline: Support for people affected by or at risk of sexual abuse.
Tel: 01926 402 498
Website: www.safeline.org.uk
Samaritans: Offering someone to talk to that isn’t family or friends. Aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide.
Tel: 116 123
Website: www.samaritans.org/
Stop Hate UK: Free dedicated 24-hour anti-hate crime reporting service for anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate incident.
Tel: 0800 138 1625
Website: www.stophateuk.org
The Survivors Trust: Free and confidential helpline to any survivor anywhere in the UK and Ireland that feels like they need to talk.
Tel: 08088 010 818
Website: https://thesurvivorstrust.org/national-helplines/

About this research

This privacy notice sets out how your information will be used as part of this research exploring perceptions of personal safety on public transport.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out research to find out about people’s experiences and views of personal safety whilst travelling.

NatCen and DfT are independent data controllers. NatCen is an independent controller for the data they already hold for you as a panel member, including contact details, basic demographics (geographic region, ethnicity, gender and age) and paradata (data about the process by which the data were collected). For any additional data collected on behalf of DfT and any analysis completed, DfT will act as the data controller and NatCen will act as the processor.

For this project NatCen will be using or collecting personal data including contact details, (name, email address, telephone contact), gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, main economic activity, disability, sexual orientation, religion, use of public transport and experience of crime or anti-social behaviour on public transport.

Processing of special category data, including ethnicity, disability, religion and sexual orientation, is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. Processing of the data will inform policy development focused on improving safety on public transport and help to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment.

What is the legal basis for processing my data?

Under data protection law, the legal basis for processing your data is Article 6(e) – public task. The research is necessary in the public interest to provide information to understand the prevalence of sexual and violent criminal offences, harassment, discrimination and behaviours which undermine personal safety on public transport, alongside perceptions of personal safety. The information will provide a baseline which can be tracked over time and inform policy development to improve personal safety on transport.

As we are processing some special category data, a further section of UK GDPR applies: condition 8 (equality of opportunity and treatment) of article 9 (g) Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest.

How will my data be used and who will have access to it?

Your information will be kept securely by NatCen. They will use the information to prepare a report for DfT. Report findings will be summarised at a national, regional or sub-group level. No individuals will be identified.

When reporting is complete, NatCen will remove identifying information and prepare a pseudonymous data file for DfT. The pseudonymised data file will then be transferred to, and stored securely by, DfT. NatCen will securely destroy survey data collected on behalf of DfT two years after the end of Fieldwork (end of April 2027).

Who to contact if you have a query or complaint

To contact the research team at NatCen, please email OpinionPanel@natcen.ac.uk.

If you have any questions about how your data will be used, you can contact NatCen’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@natcen.ac.uk.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at – Address: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF; Telephone: 0303 123 1113; Website: ico.org.uk/concerns