TO protect people from unwanted sexual behaviour and other acts that make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe on public transport, Victoria Police have launched the STOPIT text-based reporting service.

The new service will allow commuters who experience or witness these behaviours to text ‘STOPIT’ to 0499 455 455 and receive a link to a digital form where they can provide details of their experience, which will then be sent to a dedicated team of transit police to review and follow-up.

The form will require details, such as the time, date, and location of the offending, including the public transport carriage number.

Photos or videos may also be submitted if they are safe for the person to capture.

People using the service will be able to notify police about six types of behaviours, comprising of unwanted sexual behaviour, suspicious behaviour, threatening and offensive behaviour, obscene and racist language, drug and alcohol-related incidents, and graffiti and property damage.

Victoria Police superintendent, Alison Boyes, said while the tool targeted six types of behaviour that made people feel uncomfortable or unsafe, the main focus was targeting unwanted sexual acts.

“It’s for those occasions where people feel uncomfortable or unsafe and want to tell us about it,” she said.

“Unwanted sexual behaviour and criminal behaviour are the first things that we will prioritise.

“Most incidents of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport go unreported and we are determined to change that.”

Supt Boyes said Victoria Police had been developing the STOPIT tool since 2019 to help combat sexual offending on public transport, identify those responsible, and give commuters greater confidence when they travel.

“When offences are reported, seven out of 10 times we actually identify the offender, so it is worthwhile people telling us about it,” she said.

“It has become so normalised that people just accept that’s what you have to put up with on public transport.

“There was an assumption that perhaps the police weren’t interested, or the police won’t do anything about it, (but) increasing reporting means we can actually do something about it.”

With locals frequently using train services to travel to Melbourne from Ballarat and Warrnambool, the service will allow for easy and anonymous reporting of non-urgent matters.

Due to confusion around what is and isn’t a criminal offence, Victoria Police are encouraging everyone to report any behaviour that makes a person feel uncomfortable, frightened, or threatened.

The STOPIT tool is the first of its kind to be deployed in Australia, and Supt Boyes said it would assist police with identifying offenders and understanding where they need to place more police officers.

“(The data) will go to an intel analyst about when and where (the offending) is happening,” she said.

“It’s also about empowering people - victims and bystanders - to be able to do something about the behaviour.

“Between about 70-90 per cent of offences are never reported to police.

“We actually need the community to be a community and to provide us with that information to support us to do something about it.”

At the announcement of the service on Friday, PLAN International deputy chief executive, Hayley Cull, said she was “thrilled” to see the service launch, labelling it a “huge win” for the girls and young women they work with.

“PLAN International, the charity for girls’ equality, has been advocating on the issue of street harassment since before most people were even talking about it as an issue,” she said.

“The girls, young women, and gender diverse people that we work with experience harassment in public places every day.

“We’re seeing reports of girls and young women being followed on the way home, they’re being leered at, they’re being cat called, they’re being abused, and this is something that is so common that it becomes almost a normal and every day experience.

“Girls are taught that it’s just something you have to live with if you’re growing up as a girl, it’s something that might perhaps even be seen as a compliment or maybe you’re to blame.

“But it’s not normal, it’s not flattering and it’s not acceptable - it’s a crime.”

Ms Cull said one major factor for unwanted sexual acts not being reported was that victims or bystanders found the process too hard or were afraid of being belittled, however, the anonymous STOPIT tool removed those barriers.

“What we called for is exactly what Victoria Police is launching,” she said.

“A simple text-based reporting service that allows victims of street harassment or public harassment to report their experience simply, easily, anonymously if they wish.

“We know this (service) will send a really important signal to everyone - to those that experience harassment and those that perpetrate it - that this behaviour is not tolerated in our society.

Victoria Police encourages people to save 0499 455 455 to the contacts section of their mobile phone.

STOPIT is now available in 13 languages to report incidents on trains, which will be extended to trams and buses in late August.

For urgent matters where police attendance is required, people should call triple zero.

For further information go to police.vic.gov.au/stopit