Where Victorians are most likely to be stalked, threatened and harassed at work and on public transport
Increasing numbers of Victoria’s retail workers are being stalked, threatened and harassed, as an industry chief calls for harsher penalties for perpetrators.
Victoria
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Workers in Victoria’s struggling retail sector are being subjected to threatening behaviour, stalking and harassment in greater numbers than employees in any other sector.
The latest Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) data — released last month — shows a shocking 323 Victorians reported incidents in a retail setting over the last year, up from 300 the year before and 197 in 2016.
It compares to 71 in recreation settings over the same period, 64 in administration, 13 in manufacturing and 10 in the finance industry.
The nation’s peak retail body, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has renewed its calls for tougher penalties for people who assault retail workers following a spate of recent, terrifying attacks.
These included a sales assistant, who was allegedly stabbed trying to intervene during a shoplifting incident at Melbourne department store David Jones.
ARA chief Paul Zahra said retail violence was becoming “a matter of life and death”.
“This goes beyond the broader issue of retail workers being harassed and intimidated, but also stabbed and subjected to life-threatening attacks. This is unacceptable and is creating extremely high levels of stress and apprehension among retail teams and customers. We’re now at the tipping point where urgent action is required,” he said.
“We’re mindful that the majority of customers are respectful and do the right thing but a small minority are making retail a dangerous environment to work in.”
And nearly 500 Victorians have been stalked, harassed or subjected to threatening behaviour on the street, on public transport or in open spaces over the past year.
Further analysis of CSA data shows there were 360 reports of unwanted and disturbing behaviour on the state’s streets and footpaths between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, with another 68 incidents reported on public transport, 38 in or on other forms of transport and 60 in open spaces.
When it came to the types of public transport people were most likely to encounter threatening behaviour and the places it occurred, train stations, station carparks and trains topped the list, with 37, five and four reports respectively, while trams and tram stops combined numbered 13 and buses and bus stops combined, 10.
Victoria Police said reports were “spread across all major lines” and fluctuated each week, and it would not release figures for the train or tram lines and stations where the most alleged incidents occurred.
However, an analysis of CSA data from the year before shows crimes of all varieties reported in and around public transport across Victoria and reveals the most unsafe areas.
In April this year Melbourne woman Caitlin Morrison, 45, was aboard a Route 57 tram when she was allegedly assaulted by an unknown female in Maribyrnong, causing a fractured skull.
Ms Morrison, who is now campaigning for CCTV to be mandatory across the state’s public transport network, said it was “incredibly disappointing” to learn the tram she was on did not have cameras capturing what happened.
“She grabbed me and started beating the shit out of me,” Ms Morrison said of the attack.
“I was really taken off guard. Then she started ramming my head into the green vertical pole on the tram. It was so sudden and so fast, it took everyone on the tram off guard. Blood was gushing from my face and scalp.”
And in mid-June, a man was tasered by heavily armed police after he allegedly threatened terrified passengers with a knife on a Melbourne Route 48 tram in the middle of the CBD, with dramatic video showing him yelling “I will start killing these girls” as officers pleaded with him to drop the weapon.
“Open the door or I will stab their throat,” the man was heard saying on video recorded by passengers.
“You’re a f---ing c--- open this door. Open the door or I will kill one of these girls.”
The video shows police storming the CBD tram and tasering the man after he allegedly pointed a knife at a passenger, yelling “shoot me or I’ll kill her”.
Police this week released the results of its new public transport reporting service aimed at stopping sexual offending and unwanted behaviour, revealing more than 1500 notifications had been received in its first year.
STOPIT, which allows victims and bystanders to discreetly text police to report untoward and anti-social behaviour on Metro and V/line trains, has so far contributed to the arrests of 13 people.
More than 40 per cent of reports made to the service related to threatening and offensive behaviour, including verbal abuse and harassment, and one in five related to unwanted sexual behaviour including catcalling, sexual gestures, non-consensual touching and flashing.
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