Katherine Ryan praises British Transport Police for response after her daughter Violet, 14, was sexually harassed on the tube in London
Katherine Ryan has praised British Transport Police for their response after revealing that her daughter Violet was sexually harassed on public transport.
The comedian, 40, recently told how her daughter Violet, 14, had been sexually harassed on the tube during a visit to London with her cousin Lily, 16.
She opened up about how the teenagers were harassed by ‘grown men’ everywhere they went and alleged they were filmed on public transport in one vile incident.
Now, Katherine has told how she was supported by the British Transport Police following the horrific incident and revealed they sent her a personal message.
She told Metro of their response: ‘They take this very seriously. They were hot on it.’
Horrific incident: Katherine Ryan has praised British Transport Police for their response after revealing that her daughter Violet was sexually harassed on public transport
Traumatic: The comedian, 40, recently told how her daughter Violet, 14, had been sexually harassed on the tube during a visit to London with her cousin Lily, 16
Katherine said Lucy D’Orsi, the Chief Constable of British Transport Police, reached out to her after she spoke about the incident on her podcast last month.
She read the message where Lucy branded the harassment as ‘completely unacceptable’ and urged the family to report the incident.
It read: ‘I listened to your podcast where you talked about Violet and her cousin’s dreadful experience in London. That was completely unacceptable. I have responsibility for policing the tube and trains.’
‘If you’ve not reported this already, please do so. I’m trying to encourage young women and girls to report unwanted behaviour,’ she added.
It comes weeks after Katherine detailed how Violet had told her of the shocking harassment on her Telling Everybody Everything podcast last month.
She shared: ‘I’m p***ed off this week because Violet and her cousin Lily have been out in London. They’ve been out in the day; they’ve been out on the train just doing very wholesome activities.
‘Shopping, going to a theme park, doing this and that. And everywhere they go, every day, they have been sexually harassed by grown men.’
She then recalled one shocking incident when a man started filming Violet and Lily while they were on the tube, prompting Violet to start filming the man herself.
Katherine said: ‘There was a man in the middle of the day filming them on the underground. Just a man on his own who got his phone out and starts filming these girls sat opposite him.’
Supported: Now, Katherine has told how she was supported by the British Transport Police following the horrific incident and revealed they sent her a personal message
She said Violet later showed her the footage and pictures she had taken of the man, but the harassment didn’t stop there, as Violet said they continued to be harassed by other men around London.
‘There’s no mistaking Violet’s age. She’s 14, she has braces on her teeth. Anyone looking at these girls, no one is mistaking them for being adult women,’ Katherine fumed.
‘Maybe someone might hope that Lily’s 18, nevertheless, you’re a sick freak and you shouldn’t be chatting to teenage girls the way you are. I need it to stop.’
A spokesperson for the British Transport Police told MailOnline: ‘If you experience sexual harassment, we want you to report it. No incident is small or trivial.
‘Download the Railway Guardian app before you travel and remember you can text 61016 to report anything that makes you uncomfortable.’
Katherine shares her daughter Violet with her ex-husband, while she also shares kids Fred, two, and Fenna, nine months, with her partner Bobby Kootstra.
Back in 2019, Katherine spoke about her close relationship with her daughter Violet and said they have almost a ‘sisterly’ bond.
She told The Mirror: ‘My daughter Violet and I have a unique relationship. I really like her and love her, and it’s special that I’ve been alone with her for a long time, so we have a little bit of a sisterly relationship – which I know can be dangerous when she gets older, but I’m risking it. We live in a democracy.’
Family: Katherine shares her daughter Violet with her ex-husband, while she also shares kids Fred, two, and Fenna, nine months, with her partner Bobby Kootstra (pictured in June)
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