South Western Railway (SWR) has launched a new initiative addressing the harmful impact of abuse towards its frontline staff.

The campaign seeks to curb verbal assaults, including instances of swearing or insulting language towards SWR employees, which can cause significant long-term damage to their mental health and overall well-being. Often, these attacks involve personalised remarks about an employee's appearance or characteristics such as age or gender.

The campaign primarily targets customers who may inadvertently become aggressive during travel disruptions or due to other issues during their journey.

SWR now displays hard-hitting digital and printed posters throughout its network. The posters depict daily household items like doormats, shower gel, kettles, and soup cans, symbolising how employees carry the abuse with them at home.

Grant Robey, senior network crime and security manager for South Western Railway, said: "We hope this campaign will bring the human impact of thoughtless abuse to the front of our customers’ minds and remind them to be kind to our colleagues, even when things go wrong on their journeys. 

"We know that most customers wouldn’t purposefully abuse our colleagues; a lot of this behaviour arises when customers lose their temper and make heat of the moment comments. 

"Our colleagues come to work to keep everyone safe and they should not expect to face this behaviour. People wouldn't behave like this in their own workplace, so it isn’t acceptable in ours."

Frontline staff may range from onboard train guards and gate personnel to community rail officers, dispatchers, and revenue protection officers. They are often targets of passengers' frustrations and anger.

The campaign evolved from consultations with staff who have experienced abuse, urging passengers to exhibit kindness.

As part of the campaign, staff will distribute 'Be Kind' badges to colleagues, reinforcing the slogan.

SWR assists its staff by gradually introducing body-worn video cameras for frontline workers since 2021. SWR guards now have these devices available, and gate personnel are expected to receive them in the spring.

The University of Cambridge conducted a study commissioned by the Rail Delivery Group and British Transport Police (BTP), suggesting body-worn video cameras could cut the chance of assault by 47%.

A disturbing reality emerged last autumn with Network Rail revealing new figures showing 90% of its workers in the largest stations of its Southern Region, including SWR, faced abuse ranging from verbal to physical assaults.