It's been over a year and I still feel anxious about seeing my predator during my commute

The lack of CCTV on some tube lines means that many more like me will struggle to find justice

The Central Line and the Bakerloo Line do not have on-board CCTV facilities (Getty Images)

In March 2019, I was sexually assaulted on the Central Line during my commute to work. It was only 8am, rush hour, but no one seemed to notice that the man behind me was violating me.

I looked around frantically for help from a passenger, but the only thing that I could think about was if anyone would truly believe me – a stranger – or if they would believe this tall, looming man in a suit who looked as if he had his life together more than me, in jeans and a casual top. I made eye contact with a woman, but this was brief. If she saw, she didn’t want to get involved, and to this day I wonder if she noticed and chose to ignore, or whether she was in her own world.

When the predator got off of the train at Liverpool Street Station, I had tried to take a photo of him with my phone, but I was shaking. Between fear and rationale, I’d decided that if I had any chance of stopping this from happening again to somebody else, I needed some kind of evidence.

I tried to rush after him out of the station, but he ran up at the escalators, clearly aware of my intentions. By this point, reflecting that I’d been assaulted, but also had failed to stick up for myself in every instance – from the assault to post-assault – I began to sob, until a tube worker came to my aid and escorted me to the transport police’s station.

Figures taken from reports made to the London transport network’s flagship text message service between July 2016 and January 2018, show there were 348 reported incidents on the London Underground alone, of which 100 were on the Central Line – nearly double that of the next reported line, the Victoria Line at 55.

A year has passed since the assault and yet every day during my commute, I find myself stepping onto the Central Line, considering whether I will see my predator again. Then I might be able to confront him, and say what I had wished to say when I had been a timid, frightened victim.

To ask what authority he felt he had to abuse me in such a way, to violate, and to cause such fear in another, innocent human being. There is no closure in an assault, particularly in one where evidence is limited.

The Central and Bakerloo trains are the only two underground lines without onboard CCTV. While TfL says the former line will be equipped with CCTV by 2023, there is no date and therefore passengers are at risk and left in limbo, with the authorities in a "they said/I said" situation, if they are part of any type of criminal activity.

After this incident occurred, I wrote directly to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, about my concern around the lack of CCTV on TfL network tubes. Although I did not receive a direct response from him, the director of compliance, policing and on-street services, Siwan Lloyd Hayward, responded by saying: “I am very sorry to learn of your experience on one of our trains and for the distress this continues to cause you. No one should experience unwanted sexual behaviour on our transport network, and we’re working hard with our policing partners to eliminate this.

I understand learning the lack of CCTV on-board the Central Line has been very frustrating. TfL are taking action to remedy this, as you may be aware, with a major improvement programme on the Central Line beginning next year.”

This response from 2019, although reassuring, has not yet been followed through with a solution nor remedy as disclosed.

Like many others who will, or have been violated, on TfL network lines, this will continue to be a bothersome and agonising wait for justice.