Please do intervene if you ever see something untoward. As someone who travelled for 45/ 50 minutes to secondary school it used to happen far too much looking back. I do remember a man on a motorbike intervening when he noticed me and my sister being followed and harrassed and we were grateful. Also, it's impirtant to let the children know of the dangers of predatory adults early on, that way they can be more assertive instead of feeling confused and embarrassed if ever they find themselves in that situation, including someone pressing up against you in a crowded bus or train. It is a huge worry for me too as my daughter comes up to secondary school age. On the plus side you do learn to keep yourself safe and become streetwise, avoid certain quiet roads and cover up etc.

Hope your daughter is okay.

As a parent to three children including girls, this is of concern to me. I don't really have anything to add to the advice already given, but something caught my eye which makes me a little sad: the notion that it it totally unacceptable for a middle aged man to speak to a school age child on public transport. Just think about that for a while. 

[size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif]They need someone like you  - possibly even you – at the Dept. Of Education – to knock their heads together.  I agree:  the sinister corporate control of some schools is terrifying.  You say you’d like schools to teach kids how to reason with their own brains.  Wooh – steady on!  That’s the last thing these schools want.  Knowledge is a dangerous thing.  It’s all about controlling minds, without debate or discussion.   Lastly, on the subject of this original debate:  school uniforms.  20 years ago, a teenage schoolgirl in the north of England, backed by the Equal Opportunities Commision won the right to wear trousers to school – but only after the threat of legal action by her parents against the school.  At the time, her mother cited sexual discrimination, her daughter’s safety & the cold winter months.  Only 20 years ago .. havn’t we come a long way since then.  But of course there is a group of schoolgirls today (Muslems) who, so as not to breach race or religious laws, are allowed to wear trousers, & not skirts.  But apparently it’s OK to force non-Muslem girls to wear them.  Such stupid rules, discriminatory, & possibly unlawful.   And on that note, it's been fun chatting.  Goodbye & good luck.[/font][/size] 

I am not a huge fan of uniforms, but not because it puts girls at risk - that may be possible but is, I believe, impossible to know with reasonable certainty, for the reasons mentioned earlier.

There are many reasons to dislike uniforms; I personally prefer a reasonable dress code. I do wonder what sort of repressed control freak thinks it's a good use of anyone's time to check, sometimes under the rain, whether trousers are the right shade of grey, hairbands are dark blue or navy, and bull**** like that.

The Sutton Trust is adamant that it cannot be concluded uniforms have any impact on academic performance.

I also despair at the kind of almost corporate bull**** you hear at some schools, about how uniforms improve learning, convey our values etc. I'd like school to teach kids how to reason with their own brain , not how to passively absorb total utter nonsense without questioning it.

Then there's the issue of cost you mention.

But none of this has anything to do with safety.

[size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif]TO:  South London Daddy:  thank you for your measured response.  You’re absolutely right:  one can’t realistically conclude that British schoolgirls are more at risk than their European cousins because of the uniform (& not because of other factors you’ve mentioned).   As far as I know, no proper research or blind studies have been conducted into the subject and, knowing the British Govt’s (& in my experience British parents’) obsession with school uniforms, there won’t be.[/font][/size] [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif]But what we do have of course is the evidence in the 2018 Report commissioned by the children’s charity (to which I’ve referred) which [b]specifically[/b] looked at girls in school uniforms, & which suggested that the uniforms definitely have something to do with sexual harassment & risk.  possibly a great deal to do with it. The stats are frightening.  This can’t be dismissed.[/font][/size] [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif]It’s generally known also that a good deal of pornography involves women in school uniforms … there’s something about them that turns men on!  We might not like it, it's odious, but it HAS to be recognised:  in the case of schoolgirls, it can put them at real risk – why therefore force girls to wear them ?[/font][/size] [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif]I personally have witnessed two incidents on local buses involving girls in school uniforms, in one of which I intervened & called the police. The girl was clearly distressed, the perpetrator pressed the emergency exit button & legged it, & the driver was utterly disinterested.  Passengers however were supportive. It has to be said however that a few, but not many, more enlightened schools in the UK in recent years have ditched uniforms, & we all know of the leading independent girls' school (in Hammersmith) which has not had a uniform policy for many years.  There is also the issue of cost – which can be prohibitive.  Save the Children has reported that there are children in deprived UK areas who are unable to go to school because their parents can’t afford the uniform &, incredulously, they're not allowed to attend without wearing one!
What sort of message is that giving out?  Possibly that the British don’t care about children.  On many levels, I personally think that uniforms should be abolished .... but I'm not holding my breath.[/font][/size]

[quote=SouthLondonDaddy post_id=250013 time=1575290003 user_id=44455]Sorry to hear that, OP.

Thinking about that, I wonder what the best response from another adult (beyond telling the man to back off and shut up) would be.
You can't offer to walk the child home, that would come across as dodgy.
Tell the child to call her mum, maybe offer your mobile to do it if she doesn't have one?
If it's on a train, you could maybe offer to take the child to the station staff and leave her with them, but on a bus?
Not sure you can call 999 over something like this.


Thoughts?
 [/quote]
Report to the driver for starters, he's responsible for the safety of his passengers and have guidelines to follow in these cases.  That may or may not involve calling the Police.  Offering your mobile phone is an excellent idea and you could if necessary, escort the person (ideally in company) to a place of safety if you felt so required.  If it was my daughter I would thank you for any of those actions.
 

I used to be a Policeman in London for 8.5 years and dealt with the full range of sexual crimes from indecent exposure, rape inc children and incest.  Horrible really but every time it comes down to the warped mind of the individual(s) not some benign clothing acting as an uncontrollable trigger point. School uniform had nothing to do with any of it. 

I can only agree with monaco's post above in that we have to educate and support the young people in our lives not to accept this type of behaviour.

I agree with SouthLondonDaddy that a change of uniform will likely not stop those people. Better to teach our girls that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, that they should defend themselves, find a way to deal with it when it happens (ignoring them, reporting them, asking another trusted adult nearby to help, shaming them), and that they are confident young women who don't deserve that kind of treatment.
We can't remove all the risks they will face in life, nor do we know all the triggers, but we can instill in them a sense of pride in their sex and assurance that will help them navigate those treachery waters.

For info, both me and my sister are French and got some verbal sexual abuse or even men exposing themselves to us when we were teenagers.  And we didn't wear a uniform!

But can you realistically conclude that British schoolgirls are more at risk than their European cousins, and that this is because of the uniform and not because of other factors? If we want to include incidents like this one, I am not sure reliable data exists, and, even if it did, how would you normalise for all the other factors (eg maybe one country has more perverts than others, maybe one country has tougher, more effective laws, maybe one country offers better mental health help, etc).

Can you realistically conclude that the uniform was what triggered that gentleman, and that he would not have approached the child had she been dressed differently?

TO: MRSBFROMBALHAM, COPY JULIAN THE TENNIS COACH
 [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif][size=100]The subject is [u]girls in school uniforms, [/u]not women in general.  Did my post say I blame the victim?  No.  but I’m certainly blaming a system which forces schoolgirls to wear school uniforms which includes a skirt.  Definitely not the only factor behind sexual harassment in public, but certainly a contributing factor:  possibly the largest.  You seem not to want to believe it but look at the facts, of which you’re clearly unaware. [/size][/font][/size] [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif][size=100]I’d refer you to the press websites of 8 Oct 2018 (BBC, Independent, Sky, Express etc.) & you’ll read shocking figures.  35% of girls in the UK have been sexually harassed in public while wearing school uniform (revealed following a report by a girls rights’ charity.)  Touched, groped, grabbed, upskirted, stared at, followed, filmed, cat-called etc.  [/size][/font][/size] [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif][size=100]I’m concerned about children’s safety & every issue relating to this insidious behaviour needs to be addressed.  [/size][size=100]I am suggesting something which to many people is obvious. The evidence shows that young girls in school uniform are an attraction to the weird & perverted in our society, who sadly exist.  They are not going away. Why therefore put one’s children at risk?[/size][/font][/size] [size=100][font=Arial Narrow,sans-serif][size=100]But …  if you support school uniforms, you could tell a French, or German, or schoolgirl from another European nation that, like the British, they should be wearing school uniforms ….& see what they have to say to you.  I’d advise you to stand well away.[/size][/font][/size] 

[quote=mrsbfrombalham post_id=250011 time=1575289530 user_id=12191][url=https://nappyvalleynet.com/community/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=47313&sid=81ef2d3d0fd3920a3504a51ae1f79ff8]dimelda[/url] nice piece of victim shaming you are doing there. If we follow your view, women should clearly not be allowed out - just in case some rapist decides to take action.
Re-read your post - it's appalling[/quote]

Nail firmly hit on head.

Sorry to hear that, OP.

Thinking about that, I wonder what the best response from another adult (beyond telling the man to back off and shut up) would be.
You can't offer to walk the child home, that would come across as dodgy.
Tell the child to call her mum, maybe offer your mobile to do it if she doesn't have one?
If it's on a train, you could maybe offer to take the child to the station staff and leave her with them, but on a bus?
Not sure you can call 999 over something like this.


Thoughts?
 

Well said mrsbfrombalham!  My daughter travels on the 319 too so i will be arming her with the general  information shared from the original post and reinforcing that she doesn't have to talk to someone who makes her feel uncomfortable whatever she is wearing!  Also as seen on Friday at London Bridge MOST of the general public are decent and will help people so she should feel free to engage other adults in conversation /ask for help if needed...

[url=https://nappyvalleynet.com/community/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=47313&sid=81ef2d3d0fd3920a3504a51ae1f79ff8]dimelda[/url] nice piece of victim shaming you are doing there. If we follow your view, women should clearly not be allowed out - just in case some rapist decides to take action.
Re-read your post - it's appalling

I'm not at all surprised that this girl was chatted up on the bus.  If she was wearng a school uniform, generally with a short skirt (& sometimes loose tie with shirt unbuttoned at the top), it's a paedophile's dream.  Perhaps some of the more enlightened parents - if there are any - could suggest to the school Governors & Head that the kids be allowed to wear trousers or jeans ...  & ultimately abolish the archaic British practice of obligatory school uniforms which, despite all the promotional nonsense in their support, is in fact about control only.  At a stroke, the number of sexual chat-ups & assaults on schoolgirls (particularly in buses & at bus stops) would be fewer.