“Women only” carriages could be introduced on trains at night to tackle the growing problem of sexist harassment in public places, Jeremy Corbyn will say.

The frontrunner for the Labour leadership will also call for a new 24-hour police hotline dedicated to reporting harassment and assault and for councils to appoint cabinet positions for women’s safety.

The initiative follows growing evidence in recent years of the extent of the verbal – and sometimes physical – harassment of women in public places.

Sex offences on London’s Tube and train network rose more than 32 per cent to record levels last year, according to figures released earlier this month.

A YouGov survey carried out by End Violence Against Women Coalition, a campaign group, has also previously shown that 43 per cent of women aged between 18 and 34-years-old living in London had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces.

Labour leadership: The Contenders Show all 4 1 /4 Labour leadership: The Contenders Labour leadership: The Contenders Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn started off as the rank outsider in the race to replace Ed Miliband and admitted he was only standing to ensure the left of the party was given a voice in the contest. But the Islington North MP, who first entered Parliament in 1983, is now the firm favourite to be elected Labour leader on September 12 after a surge in left-wing supporters signing up for a vote. PA Labour leadership: The Contenders Liz Kendall Liz Kendall has been labelled the Blairite candidate throughout the contest, which partly explains why she has failed to attract the support needed in a party that has drifted even further from the centre-ground of British politics since the election. She has faced criticism over her relative lack of experience, having only served as an MP since 2010 and having no experience of ministerial or shadow cabinet roles. But that very lack of experience allowed her to initially make a pitch as the only candidate offering real change and a real break from the Blair/Brown/Miliband years, until Jeremy Corbyn entered the race and shifted the whole debate to the left. She is set to finish a disappointing fourth. PA Labour leadership: The Contenders Andy Burnham Andy Burnham started out as the front-runner in the leadership election, seen as the candidate of the left until Jeremy Corbyn entered the race. The former Cabinet minister has found himself squeezed between the growing populism of Corbyn’s radical agenda and the moderate, centre-left Yvette Cooper, not knowing which way to turn. It has attracted damaging labels such as ‘flip-flop Andy’, most notably over his response to the Government’s Welfare Bill. He remains hopeful he can win enough second preference votes to take him over the 50 per cent threshold ahead of Corbyn. PA Labour leadership: The Contenders Yvette Cooper.jpg Yvette Cooper has put her experience and achievements in government at the heart of her offer to the Labour party. She played a key part in setting up Sure Start in Tony Blair’s government and has pledged to continue her record on delivering for young families by promising a “revolution in the way families are supported” by introducing universal free childcare. She has also championed her role as a full-time working mother, taking pride in telling audiences that she does the school run for the kids before her day starts as a politician. But she has been criticised for being too wooden and lacking in passion and her attacks on Liz Kendall for “swallowing the Tory manifesto” at the start of the leadership contest have been criticised for helping Jeremy Corbyn brand all three mainstream candidates as ‘Tory-lite’. PA

The harassment ranged from wolf-whistling and lewd comments to physical groping and sexual assault. Of the total, 21 per cent classified the abuse as unwanted sexual attention and 4 per cent said they had been physically touched by someone. A number of other countries including Japan, India and Russia already have women-only cars on some trains and in Britain the Transport Minister, Claire Perry, has suggested in the past that it was something the Government might be open to.

But some women’s groups disagree. “I d.on’t think at all that women-only carriages are the solution – I think it’s a step back. It seems to accept that the problem is inevitable, that men will harass women and that all we can do is contain them,” Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, has argued.

Under Mr Corbyn’s plan, women would be able to report crimes in stations and a pilot scheme would be rolled out on trains and Tubes to introduce women-only carriages after 10pm at night.

He would also pledge to launch a campaign on public transport, television and cinema aimed at combating street sexism, and raise awareness of the effects of harassment.

“It is simply unacceptable that many women and girls adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed on the street, public transport and in other public places from the park to the supermarket. This could include taking longer routes to work, having self-imposed curfews, avoiding certain means of transport,” he will say.

Eileen Best, of the union Unison, which is supporting the Corbyn campaign, said it backed the plan. “The moves by Jeremy Corbyn to tackle street harassment as well as the underlying causes of sexism are much welcomed,” she said.

Andy Burnham has faced criticism after suggesting that Labour should only have a woman leader “when the time is right”.

Mr Burnham made the comment when asked whether it was time for a woman to lead Labour at BBC Radio 5 Live’s leadership hustings.

He quickly clarified his remarks, saying: “When the right candidate comes forward. It could be now, it could be in the future. Who knows?”

Diana Johnson, MP for Kingston upon Hull North, who is supporting Yvette Cooper, questioned whether he was suggesting the party was not ready for a female leader.