I found this article particularly interesting today. It's nothing new for women to be harassed on trains, on buses or even walking down the street. Surely every woman has had the cliched builder's wolf-whistle or cry of "nice legs, darlin'" in their time? If they haven't, they clearly need to work on their figure or walk the streets (in the non prostitute sense of the word) a little more often.

I remember having a debate on whether women actually encouraged/made themselves vulnerable to unwanted sexual advances/gropings/"assault" or not. I have some pretty strong views on this, and the feminist movement would definitely not take my stance. However, back to the point: should women be fighting back and posting pictures of our so-called "aggressors" on a website? On the surface this strikes me as a rather odd concept. We're encouraged by posters on the tube to keep our mobile phones/valuables out of site. If I felt slightly harassed then last thing I'd want to do would be to say, "actually sexy, just hold that pose while I take a photo of you on my phone".

I know that isn't quite the point - you've clearly got to judge your own safety in terms of getting a phone camera out, being aware of the time of night, how many people are on the tube, and whether you think the act that has been carried out is sufficient enough to warrant police time. Perhaps I've been fortunate, touch wood, that I haven't experienced any severe form of sexual harassment on the tube. Of course my backside has been touched slightly more than necessary by a stranger, and yes there was a disturbing incident one morning where I kept having to edge myself further and further away from a particular man who had an incredibly wandering hand (the front this time, not the back) And then there's the verbal stuff of course. Last night getting on the tube I was told "you're looking good today love"... by a bunch of 16yr old boys. Wonderful. But I hardly felt threatened and I wasn't going to take a photo and report them.

Am I being naive? I don't think so. I think there is some level of "harassment" that women in society have learnt to accept. I have a few friends who get thoroughly incensed by it: I tend to laugh it off. And then of course there is the time when it does go too far - the masturbation in the tube for example (mentioned in the article), or the ardent fear that someone really is about to try and rape you.

Clearly these incidents do cross a silent line and yes, I can see how taking photos (if safe to do so) and reporting to the police is a great thing. But does it really help to put it on the Internet? I'm not going to spend my evenings memorising a website full of photos of dodgy men. if the men in question probably saw it they'd no doubt be flattered by the attention. if I did memorise photos and then spent my time on the tube studying each man in detail to determine whether they'd featured on the website, then I'd probably encourage more attention. I'm sure there is a place for "if you can't slap 'em, snap 'em" but it just seems slightly misplaced.

Yes, perhaps we should create more of a fuss and create a culture where we do respond - maybe this would put men off, maybe they would enjoy the attention, or maybe they would realise they can't get away with it. I'd just be worried about the consequences if I got off the tube, after "speaking out" and the "harasser" then followed me. What is my option then? The fact that the Department for Transport state that 8% of all British women have been sexually harassed on public transport is disturbing. It's not that figure which is so bad, but clearly this must be significantly higher in London/users of the tube. Maybe we just stay sensible, stay alert and try not to travel alone as much as possible. And as a final note, I don't think this is a one-sided argument. At the risk of criticising my fair sex, I've certainly seen bunches of raucous girls going up to men in a fashion that if the attention had been the other way around, we'd almost certainly be crying "harassment".