More than half of women do not feel safe on the streets of London, according to a shock poll.
A similar number said the capital had become less safe in the last five years.
About half of respondents said they had been followed by a man or verbally abused – while almost a third had been physically or sexually assaulted, some on more than one occasion.
The Survation poll for ITV News London suggests the Metropolitan police and London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan are failing to make inroads into the scale of violence against women and girls.
The issue has been a Met priority since the murders of Sarah Everard, Zara Aleena and sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.
The Government has committed to halving violence against women and girls within a decade.
The online poll of 1,528 women in London found that 57% of respondents “do not feel safe on the streets of London”, while 32% said they did.
A similar number (58%) said the mayor was not doing enough to make women and girls feel safe in London.
Asked to what extent London had become more or less safe in the last five years, 26% said it had become much less safe and 23% said it had become less safe.
Only 6% thought the capital had become much more safe and 15% somewhat more safe.
In an interview with ITV News London, Jess Phillips, the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said she was “saddened” but not surprised by the figures, adding: “Every woman I know has been harassed at some point in their life.”
On Tuesday, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised to the broadcaster Selina Scott after she told him how she had been unable to find a police officer after being mugged in Piccadilly.
More than half (51%) said more police on the streets would make them feel safer in London.
Tougher prison sentences for people convicted of violent crimes against women was the second most popular response (41%), with more CCTV in public areas third (34%).
Better education for young boys in school – a priority for Sir Sadiq – was backed by 26%.
Ms Everard, 33, was abducted, raped and murdered by serving Metropolitan Police Officer Wayne Couzens as she walked home in London in 2021.
Ms Phillips said the case of Sarah Everard was moment of social change where people “properly started to care”.
She said: “I’m not saying they didn't care before, I’m saying they realised what women were tolerating in the public realm and it became much more of a pertinently political issue.”
Three years ago, Ms Aleena, 35, was murdered as she walked home from a night out in Ilford by Jordan McSweeney, who had committed a number of other offences and should have been recalled to prison.
Zara's aunt, Farah Naz, told ITV News: "These figures are horrifying but reflect what women already live with every day.
“My niece, Zara, was walking home when she was murdered. She should have been safe. Every woman should be. Yet nearly half have been followed and over a quarter assaulted. We need more than promises, we need systemic change."
Sir Sadiq told ITV News London: “We’ve got a situation across the country where every three days a woman is killed at the hands of a man and across the globe it is every 10 minutes.
“We're doing our bit from City Hall, but we can't do it ourselves. That's why we are working really closely with the police, with the courts, with the CPS, with the judiciary, but also schools. It's got to start from primary school.
“We've made sure we get involved in public education, made sure boys understand about healthy relationships and about respecting women, changing the law in relation to making public harassment of women in the public space of criminal offence, recording examples of misogyny, but also invest in record sums in tackling violence against women and girls.”
The Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, Ben Russell, said: “Part of the challenge of violence against women and girls is the volume. We are receiving thousands and thousands of reports every year.
“What we know is important is not always the outcome of the investigation but the process, how we treat the victims and how we communicate even with witnesses and being able to share as much information as possible and treat victims with respect and with dignity is absolutely critical.
“We know we have got more to do to get to where we want to be. But it's something that is important and we all recognise that.”
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