We’ve all seen moments on TfL that don’t feel right — a stare that lingers too long, intimidating language, or aggression that makes a carriage fall silent. Most of us want to help but aren’t sure how. Launched during Hate Crime Awareness week, TfL & VCCP combined to produce ‘Act like a friend’, which asks you to do exactly that - to act like a friend to the person experiencing harassment or abuse. You can pretend to know them from work, start a conversation about their trainers, or even just ask them if they are okay. Any kind of friendly gesture that aims to support the victim, rather than confront the perpetrator, is proven effective behaviour to help defuse these situations.

The whole campaign was built around real stories from real Londoners who are already out there doing this behaviour. The campaign went live across the entirety of the TfL network in the form of digital and printed OOH, designed to be in-the-moment reminders of the simple prompts people can use to act like a friend if they need to. The campaign was produced in collaboration between Girl&Bear, My Accomplice & Film London.

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This case study was provided by Girl&Bear and the project was included in the 2025 dataset. Watch the final film here.

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CO2e correct as at date of activity input/edit. Subject to change in future if Final Footprint is reopened and activities edited, due to underlying factor updates.