public transit Archives | Stop Street Harassment

16 Days – Day 6: Women Allies on a Bus

November 30, 2018 By HKearl

Each day across the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we will highlight a 2018 activism effort undertaken to stop street harassment or a personal story about stopping harassers!

Day 6: Women Allies on a Bus

One day in California, a man followed a woman for blocks. She boarded a bus to try to get away from him, but he got on too and continued harassing her. Another woman passenger stood up and asked her, “Do you feel safe?”

The harassed woman was so upset she can’t speak, so the other passenger guided her away and said, “We can sit together.”

The harasser tried to follow them, but other women passengers then stood up to block him. Soon “there were six or seven women creating this barrier,” said one of the women who stood up. “That man looked at us, yelled one last shitty thing, and got off at the next stop. Because he realized there was no way he could win against all of us.”

This woman who stood up wrote, “After I got off the bus, I started crying. I was sad because we have to deal with situations like this ALL the time, but I was crying happy tears because, for once, I felt like I wasn’t alone, and I felt how powerful we are when we stand together.”

Indonesia: Is Women-Only Transport Effective?

July 26, 2017 By Correspondent

Astrid Nikijuluw, Serpong, Banten, Indonesia SSH Blog Correspondent

English version below.

AREA KHUSUS WANITA PADA TRANSPORTASI UMUM: EFEKTIF?

Kereta pagi meluncur dari stasiun Manggarai menuju stasiun tanah abang. Di dalam penumpang kereta yang berdesak-desakkan, terdapat Agnes yang hendak berangkat menuju kantor. Tiba-tiba dari arah belakang dia merasakan sesuatu yang aneh. Sontak ia segera berbalik badan dan dengan lantang berteriak ke muka pria yang tepat berdiri di belakangnya,”Heh! Kamu sengaja ya gesek-gesek?!” Pria tersebut tidak bisa mengelak dan di stasiun berikutnya dia pun diturunkan oleh petugas dan dilaporkan pada pihak berwenenang.

Kisah diatas merupakan ilustrasi dari kejadian pelecehan seksual yang kerap terjadi di transportasi umum di Indonesia. Banyaknya pengguna kereta di pagi hari mengakibatkan hal-hal seperti ini terkadang sulit dihindari. Kejadian pelecehan seksual seperti yang terjadi pada KRL juga terjadi pada penumpang wanita Bis Trans Jakarta. Beruntung pemerintah cukup peduli dengan hal tersebut. PT Kereta Api Indonesia melalui PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ) terhitung sejak tanggal 1 Oktober 2012 meresmikan kereta khusus wanita. Gerbong khusus ini biasanya terdapat pada gerbong pertama dan gerbong terakhir dari rangkaian KRL. Selain pada transportasi kereta api, transportasi umum lainnya yang juga terdapat area khusus wanita adalah Bis Trans Jakarta. Bis Trans Jakarta juga merupakan sarana umum yang kerap digunakan oleh para pekerja setiap harinya. Dengan adanya area-area khusus wanita tersebut dapat pemerintah Indonesia melalui PT KCJ seperti yang diungkapkan oleh Eva Chairunissa selaku VP Communications PT KCJ dapat mengakomodasi permintaan para pengguna KRL yang merasa risih harus berdempet-dempetan dengan lawan jenis. Selain itu ia juga mengharapkan agar dengan adanya gerbong khusus wanita dapat menghindari kejadian-kejadian yang tidak diharapkan yang korbannya lebih sering perempuan. (https://news.detik.com/berita/d-3504057/sejarah-gerbong-krl-khusus-wanita-di-indonesia-dan-negara-lain)

Saya sebagai salah satu pengguna reguler KRL sangat mengapresiasi tindakan pemerintah dalam mengurangi pelecehan seksual terhadap pengguna wanita baik di kereta maupun di Bis. Kejadian seperti ilustrasi kisah diatas memang sangat mengganggu bahkan cenderung menjadi terror yang cukup menakutkan bagi sebagian wanita terutama para korban dari tindakan asusila tersebut. Saya merasa cukup beruntung tidak pernah mengalami kejadian ini. Dalam pengamatan saya membaca berita-berita, semenjak diadakannya area khusus wanita baik pada kereta api maupun bis trans Jakarta, kasus pelecehan seksual pada transportasi umum tidak sebanyak sebelumnya. Namun apakah hal ini bisa dibilang efektif untuk menanggulangi kasus-kasus pelecehan seksual yang terjadi pada sarana transporasi umum? Saya rasa hal ini masih harus dikaji lebih dalam. Coba sama-sama kita bayangkan. Untuk merasa lebih aman, pengguna kereta wanita yang jumlahnya bisa mencapai puluhan bahkan ratusan ribu per harinya harus rela berdesak-desakkan dalam 2 gerbong yang tersedia. Berita-berita terakhir bahkan menunjukkan kejadian tidak mengenakkan di gerbong wanita seperti adu mulut berebut tempat duduk. Sehingga akhirnya sebagian dari mereka tetap menggunakan gerbong biasa dengan resiko bisa mengalami kejadian pelecehan seksual. Dan apabila memang terjadi, akankah mereka disalahkan karena ‘memilih dengan sengaja’ gerbong yang bukan dikhususkan untuk wanita?

Buat saya kejelasan hukum juga menjadi poin penting dalam rangka pencegahan kasus pelecehan seksual tersebut. Dari penelitian singkat saya mengenai kasus-kasus pelecehan seksual yang terjadi di transportasi umum, pelaku tidak mendapat hukum yang setimpal, bahkan dalam beberapa kasus dibebaskan karena dianggap ‘hanya’ melakukan percobaan. Bukankah segala sesuatu itu berawal dari ‘mencoba’? Kalau berhasil diteruskan. Justru titik krusial menurut saya adalah pada saat mencoba ini. Jika dari hal ini saja sudah ‘dibolehkan’ secara hukum maka jangan heran kalau kasus pelecehan seksual masih akan dan terus berlangsung di transportasi umum. Sejauh ini saya belum menemukan hukuman yang dapat memberikan efek jera kepada para pelaku kejahatan seksual tersebut. Sekali lagi seperti yang pernah saya tulis sebelumnya, hal ini masih belum dianggap serius. Padahal efek yang ditimbulkan kepada para korban sangat dalam. Berdasarkan laman resmi dari Komnas Perempuan (komnasperempuan.go.id) pelecehan seksual dikategorikan ‘hanya’ sebagai perbuatan yang tidak menyenangkan dalam hukum Indonesia. Hal inilah menurut saya yang masih perlu perbaikan.

Upaya pemerintah dengan mengadakan area khusus wanita pada transportasi umum patut kita hargai. Setidaknya pemerintah masih peduli terhadap kasus-kasus pelecehan seksual yang kerap terjadi pada pengguna wanita. Namun alangkah baiknya apabila langkah yang sudah baik ini diikuti pula dengan payung hukum yang sepadan. Kita semua juga tahu tidak mungkin semua penumpang wanita berada di area khusus wanita. Sebagian akan tetap berada di area umum. Dengan hukum yang jelas dan bisa menimbulkan efek jera, akan sangat menunjang usaha pengurangan tingkat pelecehan seksual di area publik dan transportasi umum. Jika tidak maka jangan heran apabila kejadian seperti akan tetap berlangsung tanpa dapat dicegah.

Astrid received her Bachelors of Business at Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Australia. She finished her Master’s Degree at Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta where she majored in Human Resource Development. Follow her on Twitter at @AstridNiki or on Facebook.

The morning train is on its way from Manggarai station to Tanah Abang station. Among those many people, there was Agnes who is on her way to the office. Suddenly she feels something disturbing. She quickly turns her body angrily and yells at the man standing behind her, “Hei! Are you intentionally touching my back with your p***s?! The man cannot avoid the accusation and in the next station he is brought to the post for further process.

The above story is an illustration of how the sexual harassment happens on public transportation in Indonesia. The crowds of people using the trains and buses in their daily morning makes that behavior seems unavoidable.

Luckily the government has shown their concern towards this matter. Since October 1, 2012, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Indonesian Train Company) through PT KAI COMMUTER JABODETABEK (KCJ) has run women-only transit carriages in the front and back of the train. In addition to the train, the trans-Jakarta bus, which is also a common mode of transportation, has a special area for women, the first few rows behind the driver.

Eva Chairunissa, the VP Communications of PT KCJ, said the women-only areas are meant to help women riders feel more comfortable. The government hopes that the women-only areas are decreasing the levels of sexual harassment and that people are more comfortable using the public transportation.

I, as one of the public transportation user, really appreciate what the government has done in order to reduce the level of sexual harassment in public transportation. I am lucky enough to never have experienced such an incident, but based on what I’ve read in the news, the sexual harassment cases have gone down since the launch of the women-only areas.

However is it really effective at decreasing the level of sexual harassment in public transportation? I think it still needs to be reviewed. Let’s imagine. To feel more comfortable and safe, women passengers, who are up to hundreds of thousands in number each day have to use only two carriages on the train or the first few rows on the trans-Jakarta bus. There is simply not enough space for all women and there are often arguments over seating. Thus, many women still use the regular area in the public transportation and face the risk of experiencing sexual harassment there. And of course if and when that happens, some may blame them for choosing the “wrong” area.

In my opinion, women-only options are not enough. The clarity of the law is also very important in order to prevent sexual harassment. From my own research of news stories, the punishment for the perpetrators are not worth it, even in some cases they are not being punished because they were ‘only’ just ‘trying’ to sexually harass the victim…. But doesn’t everything start from trying? If they succeed, they may do it again. The crucial moment for me is at the stage of ‘trying’. If this stage is ‘allowed’ according to law, then no wonder sexual harassment cases in public transportation still occur. Thus far, I haven’t found any punishment that would realistically act as a deterrent to the perpetrators. Once again, as my two last articles had stated, this kind of behavior has not yet been taken seriously.

Based on the KOMNAS PEREMPUAN (National Commission On Violence Against Women) website, by law, sexual harassment is categorized only as a “disturbing behavior” that is on the same level as other behavior, such as cheating. This is what needs to be improved. The current sexual harassment law is not at all adequate to accommodate the range of every day behaviors.

The government’s plan for preventing sexual harassment in public transportation by creating women-only areas is well-respected. At least the government has done something. However, it would be much better if this action was accompanied with a decent law, especially as many women still use the regular sections of public transportation. Therefore a stronger law will help reduce the sexual harassment cases on a larger scale in public spaces, including public transportation. Otherwise, we can’t be surprised when sexual harassment incidents continue to occur.

The “Sexist” Seat on Mexico City’s Subway

March 30, 2017 By HKearl

Via The Pool:

“A new campaign hoping to tackle sexual harassment in Mexico has introduced a ‘sexist’ seat on the metro exclusively for men – complete with chest and penis. The seat was created to make men feel as uncomfortable as women on public transport and, judging by the accompanying video, it worked. Men are seen to consciously avoid sitting on the seat, or sitting on it without realising, only for them to quickly jump up and move. In front of the seat is a message to men, reading, ‘It’s uncomfortable to sit here, but it doesn’t compare with the sexual violence that women suffer in their everyday lives.’ The anti-harassment message has since gone viral, with the hashtag #NoEsDeHombres.”

I was in Mexico City a few weeks ago for the UN Women Safe Cities Global Leaders’ Forum and we heard from many Mexico City leaders, including the mayor, about their efforts to make public places safer for women. What struck me was that nearly every effort they discussed, such as women-only transit options and the distribution of thousands of whistles, put the onus on women to try to stay safe. What I appreciate about the “sexist” seat is that the message is directed at men. While no, the seat by itself is not enough to change the cultural norms that allow sexual harassment to occur, I think it is an example of a unique and attention-grabbing way to start discussions with men about sexual harassment in public spaces and why men must help stop it.

That said, would-be harassers are not the only ones who ride the subway and consideration should be made for survivors of sexual assault and others who could be upset by it.

UPDATE: I did an interview for BBC News on this initiative.

South Africa: How Johannesburg Infrastructure and Transport Systems Contribute to Street Harassment

September 20, 2016 By Correspondent

Nyasha Joyce Mukuwane, Johannesburg, South Africa, SSH Blog Correspondent

Johannesburg is marketed as a world-class African city. In many ways it is, with a burgeoning middle class population and tourist and cultural attractions. High rise buildings in Sandton have turned it into a millionaire’s playground and it has been named Africa’s richest square mile. Precincts such as Maboneng are where the hipsters and the creative go to play and the nightlife extends very late via restaurants, pubs and clubs all over Johannesburg.

However, what is not world-class is the treatment of women on the streets who are running, walking, and going about their daily lives. What the tourist bureaus don’t show is the vulnerability of women and children in poorer areas who have to travel a long distance to school, the clinic and to places of employment. The average under-privileged woman experiences constant street harassment and threats of potential violence against her.

Johannesburg has been identified as a disorderly city with the worst instance of urban sprawl in South Africa, therefore a car is a necessity. It is a necessity as a 90 minute commute is halved with a car. Simple daily tasks such as school runs, grocery shopping and attending classes are completed easily. Owning a car in Johannesburg helps you keep up with the fast pace of the city, allowing you to enjoy what the city has to offer and most importantly, a woman’s exposure to harassment on the streets is reduced. Urban sprawl and the public transport system leave women vulnerable to street harassment.

Public transport system

Owning a car is simply out of reach for women who are lowly paid without steady streams of income. The majority of people who need to commute around Johannesburg make use of mini buses which are called taxis. These taxis transport people from farm holdings, informal settlements, townships and urban areas. They are convenient and relatively inexpensive. However many women have been harassed, humiliated, groped and assaulted by taxi drivers and other male passengers.

The train can also be another harrowing experience. The most horrifying tale I heard is a woman realizing that a stranger had ejaculated on her skirt in a packed train ride. Personal space does not exist aboard a Metrorail train. In stark contrast to the sleek, smooth running Gautrain, most disadvantaged women use the Metrorail to get around. The Gautrain has stops at 10 stations where only privileged people would find it convenient, like heading to financial hubs or the airport.

The typical work day of a woman in a township called Orange Farm would have her wake up before dawn to get a taxi. The majority of Orange Farm doesn’t have streetlights. The first taxi of the day that will drop her off at the Metrorail station as it is too far to walk. Besides that, there is long grass along the road. The train takes her to the CBD where she takes another taxi to get to her place of employment in Sandton. All modes of transportation will pose their own potential threats of harassment and sexual violence against her. It will take at least two hours for her to get to work in the morning if there are no incidents with the train schedule or traffic. Then she has to travel another two hours again after work, in the dark, 6 days a week, every month – all the time.

Street harassment is not necessarily seen as an issue to be dealt with by authorities and often law enforcement is not proactive but rather reactionary to incidences of escalated street harassment, such as assault or rape. The Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development works in Orange Farm where community members identified a stretch of veld with dumped garbage and long grass where men are raping and mugging women and a woman’s dead body had been found previously. With Nisaa’s support, community members mobilized themselves and cleared the area of debris and long grass. City officials and the local councillor promised that a park w0uld be put in place to make the area safer. That was in 2013 and they are still waiting. The community members have since become demoralized.

Picture courtesy of Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development

Disadvantaged women face street harassment everyday because of the spaces they occupy and the modes of transport they use. Townships were deliberately placed in inconvenient areas to keep people of colour from spaces of privilege by the apartheid government. A privileged woman is not completely immune to street harassment but her material possessions such as a car and the exclusive spaces in which she moves around in create a buffer against street harassment — whether real or imagined. She has the luxury of letting her guard down once in a while. In a literal tale of two cities, I ask again: Is Johannesburg truly a world-class African city?

Nyasha is the public awareness coordinator at the Nisaa Institute for Women’s Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the main goal is counselling and sheltering survivors of domestic abuse. She has edited two books by survivors that are available to download for free from the website www.nisaa.org.za.

End of April 2016 News

April 30, 2016 By HKearl

More recent news:

USA Today, “China introduces female-only bus service“

“A female-only bus service aimed at protecting women from sexual harassment launched this week in China, drawing praise and criticism.

The Zhengzhou 3rd bus company introduced the service on a popular route in the central city of Zhengzhou. It will run during busy commuting hours until early August.

“During the summer, women usually wear thinner clothes, making it easier for them to be harassed in crowded buses. … The all-female service will increase their convenience and safety,” said Kong Chaoping, the firm’s chairman, according to the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper.

The buses are recognizable by their big red signs that read, “Female-only.” They have stuffed animals and other kids’ toys suspended from the ceiling.

Sexual harassment is a common yet largely ignored problem on China’s public transportation system. More than 50% of women have experienced inappropriate touching or body contact while using the country’s trains and buses, a survey by the China Youth Daily newspaper found last year.

In 2014, the Women’s Federation of Guangzhou, a state-affiliated group, found that 85% of all sexual assaults in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, occurred while victims used the city’s public transportation network.”

Quartz, “Thousands of Mexican women are talking about sexual harassment for the first time“

“Rarely publicly acknowledged in Mexico, sexual harassment is being surfaced via Twitter hashtag #MiPrimerAcoso, or #MyFirstHarassment, by women posting their first experiences with male bullying and by others wanting to have an open discussion. Hundreds of thousands of posts have circulated in the last three days.

The drive, started by a Colombian columnist (link in Spanish) on Saturday, is reinforcing the issue after demonstrations Sunday (April 24) in Mexico City and other major cities attracted thousands of women. The Twitter record, a poignant collection of heartfelt confidences, will probably prove more powerful…

#MiPrimerAcoso reveals that many women first experienced harassment as girls, as young as five and six years old. The perpetrators of the abuse span a wide range, from relatives—older cousins and uncles are mentioned frequently—to policemen, to random strangers, and in one case, a therapist.”

Waging Nonviolence, “Mexican feminists declare a ‘violet spring’ on nationwide day of action“

“Tens of thousands of feminists protested across Mexico on Sunday, amid what they say is an epidemic of violence against women.

“We’re sick of suffering all kinds of abuse when we just walk in the street,” said Mari, a protester in the central Mexican city of Puebla, who was joined by hundreds of activists in Puebla’s city center, demanding justice for victims of femicide.

When the march reached the state government offices, activists accused local authorities of failing to bring perpetrators of violence to justice. One masked protester shouted, “The government here in Puebla lets them get away with impunity,” adding, “This isn’t just in Puebla, but all of Mexico.”

Declaring a “violet spring,” protesters called on women across Mexico to take a stand against sexism. One of the largest protests took place in Mexico City, where organizers railed against Mexico’s traditionally machista, or sexist, culture.

“It is evident that we need social re-education — to teach men not to harass, not violate, not hit, not threaten, not enslave, not abuse and not kill women and girls,” organizers said in a statement.”

The Verge, “India mandates panic button on all phones to help keep women safe“

“All mobile phones sold in India will be required to have a panic button as of next year, the country’s telecommunications ministry announced this week, as part of an effort to enhance safety for women. As Bloomberg reports, the order requires handset makers to implement an emergency feature that could be activated by holding down the numbers 5 or 9 on a keypad. The function will be mandatory on all phones by January 1st, 2017, while GPS navigation systems will be mandatory on all devices by 2018.

Women’s safety in India has drawn worldwide attention following reports of gang rapes and other forms of violence. There were more than 330,000 reported cases of violence against women in 2014, according to government statistics, up 9 percent from the previous year. The issue has spurred some companies to develop apps and services that make it easier for women to contact emergency services. India’s minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, pushed for mandated panic buttons last year.”

‘Technology is solely meant to make human life better and what better than using it for the security of women,’ Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a statement.”

attn: “This Man’s Attempt to Take Upskirt Photos Just Backfired in an Extreme Way“

“A shocking piece of footage, in which a man eats his camera’s memory card after being caught allegedly filming upskirt videos, is gaining international attention.

According to the Chinese Publication People’s Daily, the video was filmed by a woman caught the alleged Peeping Tom in the act while riding the subway. The woman who shot the footage goes by the name Xiao Cha Cha A, Daily Mail reports. She posted the video on the Chinese social media service Weibo, with a caption reading, “I had tried to block his view a few times but he kept on taking them. I must expose him!”

In the video, the Xiao Cha Cha A is seen tugging at the man’s bag, and yelling, “delete the pictures, delete them. Look everybody, here is a pervert who takes upskirt pictures of women,” Daily Mail reports.

The man then eats his SD card. It is unclear if the woman forces him to do so, or if he eats the card voluntarily to destroy the evidence. In the final seconds of the 1:01-long video, the man can be seen fleeing the subway car.”

The Source, “[Los Angeles] Metro’s new anti-sexual harassment video“

“Metro launched its “Off Limits” campaign last spring in an effort to reduce sexual harassment on buses and trains. The campaign was a direct response to riders identifying this as an issue in Metro’s customer surveys.”