public transport Archives | Stop Street Harassment

Kenya: Report on Violence Against Women and Girls on Public Transport

June 15, 2018 By Contributor

This is a guest blog post about a new baseline study on sexual harassment on public transit and related spaces in Nairobi County.

By Flone Initiative

NATURE OF VAWG

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) in public transport and its associated spaces has and continues to be a global problem. According to the Flone Initiative‘s “Baseline Study on Violence against Women and Girls in Public Road Transport and Connected Spaces in Nairobi County, Kenya,” on average 73 percent of the survey respondents had heard/witnessed while 27 percent had not heard/witnessed any case. This means that such cases are common and do indeed occur in the public transport sector in the selected routes in Nairobi County. The cases are taken with a high level of seriousness and thus would be expeditiously addressed if reported.

The most common forms of street harassment include the use of abusive language by the matatu crews and inappropriate physical contact that includes unnecessary touching of female passengers in an effort to coerce them to board the PSV and staring/winking. Cases of stripping/undressing and inappropriate gestures were the least cited. This could be due to the fact that they are extreme, though not uncommon. Other actions reported include men blocking the vehicle entrance or exit from women and comments with sexual connotations used with inappropriate gestures.

According to the findings, the major perpetrators of VAWG usually are public transport crew (drivers, conductors or touts) at 82 percent, followed by female passengers at 18 percent. According to the study, male passengers are not perpetrators of VAWG. This implies that the matatu crews rank highest as perpetrators mostly due to the fact that they frequently interact with passengers. Other perpetrators include touts, drunk passengers and unauthorized persons in the bus stations. With regards to touts, it is worth noting that they act independently within the sector, most of them lack professionalism and are not regulated or bound by any code of conduct. Therefore, it may be difficult to hold them to account with regard to VAWG cases they may be involved in.

The majority of women and girls said they hear or witness cases of sexual harassment once a month, while for others it is more than 5 times. Only a few said they do not hear nor witness such cases. This shows that cases of sexual harassment are quite common in the public transport sector in Nairobi County.

PREVALENCE OF VAWG

Though there are certain spaces associated with violence and harassment, it is important to note that women and girls are harassed in both public and private spheres. It is also worth acknowledging that violence against women and girls denies them the capacity to explore and interact freely. Women and girls are more susceptible to harassment and violence due to the existing cultural norms and stereotypes.

According to the survey majority (64 percent) of harassment incidences occur at the bus stop/station, while 18 percent take place inside the vehicle. Only 9 percent were identified as occurring at the vehicle entrance. Others incidences were found to occur in spaces such as private hire cars/taxis. This is due to the fact that various unauthorized persons including touts hang around the bus stages and related spaces.

Alarmingly, some commuters (25 percent) attribute women’s clothing as a major contributing factor of VAWG. Twenty-one percent attribute VAWG to the fact that police don’t take such cases seriously. It is worth noting that 18 percent believe that the failure by victims to report such cases is a major contributing factor. Commuters also believe that the lack of reporting mechanisms in the PSV SACCOs and overcrowding in public transport vehicles does contribute to VAWG at 14 percent and 13 percent respectively. The lack of security personnel accounted for 5 percent while poorly lit and isolated bus stops were also identified as major contributors of harassment at 3 percent.

Violence and harassment is not only limited to women and girls utilizing public transport; women driving private cars also face verbal harassment. This includes hearing insults and harassment by matatu drivers during peak hours. Although harassment is common in some selected routes within the city of Nairobi, it is worth noting that, there were some SACCO’s that taken initiative to offer customer service training to their staff. This has been found to reduce confrontations between commuters and the operators.

RESPONSES TO VAWG

According to the survey, the most frequent response of commuters to harassment was to take no action (36 percent). Thirty percent reported incidents to the PSV SACCO officials and 26 percent confronted the perpetrator. Only 8 percent said they would report the case to the police, showing a distrust of police. However, it is comforting to note that a good number have faith in the fact that the PSV SACCO would address the matter and thus they are willing to report to the PSV SACCO officials.

Despite the SACCO managers being granted the mandate of maintaining order in their selected route, very few or none are doing a good job. According to the survey, the PSV SACCO managers would act or choose not to act depending on the magnitude of the harassment incident. The majority would refrain from any process that would involve them appearing before legal and justice systems.

The majority of the managers (37 percent) would sack the staff involved, 18 percent would have the case reported to the police and another 18 percent would take other forms of actions such as disciplinary action against the staff including suspension after investigation of the case. It is worth noting that only 9 percent said they would take no action, thus showing that they would be willing to address the issues brought to them. However, sacking the staff without investigations would not be an appropriate way of dealing with the issue since there is a probability of the sacked crew securing employment with another SACCO and hence continue perpetrating the vice.

While most of the managers stated they would take some form of action to address VAWG issues reported to them, only 27 percent said that the case was investigated and action taken. The majority (37 percent) said the case was only recorded and no further action was taken. Eighteen percent stated that the case would be trivialized and 9 percent claimed they would be blamed for the case. While it is disconcerting to note that no actions would be taken after the recording of the cases, it is comforting that at least a record of the reported cases is kept and can be followed up.

According to the survey, reporting an incident to the police is the most common action taken against perpetrators (32 percent). A significant proportion (24 percent) would prefer not to get involved while 12 percent state that other forms of actions would be taken, such as suspending the staff involved after investigations and educating the perpetrator on professionalism.

Although some SACCO managers do report to the police, there are no perpetrators who have been arrested nor prosecuted. This explains why the managers choose to administer the punishment by themselves.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Operators

Observe professionalism with customers. Specifically, avoid using abusive language and inappropriate physical contact.
Understand that customers may have diverse needs, preferences, personalities and backgrounds that must be respected. Ensure courtesy at all times, especially as you help female clients.
Male operators should ensure a harmonious working relationship with their female colleagues as well as a conducive working environment free of harassment and discrimination.

Commuters

Know your rights as a commuter.
Report to the SACCO officials, security personnel or the police any cases of harassment that you witness or experience while commuting.
Obey and strictly adhere to all traffic rules to avoid confrontation with the law and other road users.

The Police Department

Expeditiously pursue and address cases of VAWG that are reported to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book and pay for their crimes.
Provide reporting mechanisms where commuters can express their grievances or report cases of VAWG. This can be achieved by providing toll free lines on the vehicles or spaces managed by your PSV SACCO.

PSV SACCOs

Provide reporting mechanisms where commuters can express their grievances or report cases of VAWG. This can be achieved by providing toll free lines on the vehicles or spaces managed by your PSV SACCO.
Route managers must ensure that only authorized persons operate the vehicles and deal with unauthorized persons in the bus stations where most harassment occurs.
Expeditiously follow up cases of VAWG that are reported and ensure that they fully investigated and addressed.
Advocate for the identification and regulation of touts by NTSA to ensure that they observe professional conduct in their jobs.
Ensure a conducive working environment free of harassment and discrimination.
Give incentives to the most disciplined crew.

Matatu Owners Association

Employ qualified drivers and operators, preferably those certified with customer care training.
Monitor the activities of the self-employed staff and ensure they are fit to handle customers.

CONCLUSION

VAWG remains an issue of concern both in public and private sphere. Street harassment is common but not limited to the public transport vehicles and the related spaces. Women who operate private vehicles also face harassment occasionally. Though the stakeholders are aware of its existence, the majority of them play the silent bystanders role. They choose not to report nor witnesses because they think the blame shall be laid to them. For the survivors who report the harassment, the police and the SACCO officials conduct little or no investigation. It is comforting that there are some SACCOs that have adopted a friendly customer care system.

Flone Initiative, is a women led organization registered as a trust based in Kiambu, Kenya, working towards ending violence against women and girls in public spaces by influencing behavioral change and promoting tolerance and acceptance by strengthening capacities at grassroots level.

“I leaned away and shook my head but he didn’t stop”

October 16, 2016 By Contributor

I was about 15 years old, riding a bus at night with a female friend. It was before 9 p.m. at night in a Denver suburb. A man sat right next to me, against my body, and was touching my cheek. I leaned away and shook my head but he didn’t stop. I thought he had a knife in his other hand but I cant be sure. There were very few people on the bus. One man told him to leave me alone, and told the bus driver to do something. He didn’t stop and the driver didn’t do anything. Thankfully he didn’t get off the bus when we did. Maybe they told him not to.

– Anonymous

Location: Denver suburbs, Arapahoe County, Colorado

Need support? Call the toll-free National Street Harassment hotline: 855-897-5910

Share your street harassment story for the blog.
See the book 50 Stories about Stopping Street Harassers for ideas.

Women in Pakistan leave jobs because of commuter harassment

October 21, 2011 By HKearl

Some women leave their jobs because of the street harassment they face during their commute, according to a new article about sexual harassment on public transportation in Islamabad, Pakistan.

“This single issue is directly damaging the careers of working women,” reads the article in Pakistan Today.

I’m not surprised. I know street harassment can significantly impact women’s lives. When I conducted an informal study of more than 800 women in 23 countries and 45 US states for my book research, 9 percent of women said they had changed jobs because of harassers along their commute and, related, street harassment had caused nearly 20 percent of the respondents to move neighborhoods.

What does the harassment in Pakistan look like?

Via Pakistan Today:

“Street sexual harassment for a woman in public transport is similar to claustrophobia because she feels trapped in a small place with fear of no escape until she reaches her destination.

If a bus or train is crowded or if a woman is sitting by the window and the man harassing or assaulting her is sitting behind her, she cannot scream or raise her voice since most of the women do not want to get people’s attention in cases like these.

Faiza Bibi is a resident of Bhara Kahu which is a suburban area of the city and she has to travel daily using public transport to reach her workplace. She said most of the drivers harass female passengers; sometimes they even touch the female passenger sitting next to them on the front seats while pretending as if they were merely shifting the gear.

She complained that the behaviour of drivers, especially of the vans plying on the Route Number 127, was unbearable.

“Women have no other option since they have to sit on the front seats, next to the driver, because they are the only seats meant for women,” she explained.

She lamented that the drivers took advantage of the situation by harassing women; sometimes by touching, staring or playing loud vulgar songs but the women commuters usually avoided complaining to anyone because they felt too embarrassed to tell anybody.”

Of course Pakistan is not the only country with this problem. New York City, Boston, and Chicago all have PSA campaigns focused on sexual harassment on the buses and subways because studies showed more than 60 percent of riders faced harassment.

Many countries like Japan, India, and Brazil have women-only subway cars offered during rush hour because of the problem of sexual harassment and this is a “solution” Islamabad may turn to as well if they can get the finances for it. 92 percent of women surveyed there said they want to have women-only public transportation. But actually, what they probably want is just no harassment, not necessarily segregation. Since no one in the government seems to care about actually ending the harassment, segregation probably sounds appealing and certainly could be a short-term solution to offer them relief. But it will not fix the problem in the long run.

Fortunately, there are people speaking out against street harassment in Pakistan whose efforts may lead to more long-term change. One example is in Karachi, Pakistan, where a new NGO called Gawaahi creates media for awareness and advocacy. They recently produced two short video clips about street harassment in Pakistan as a way to start raising awareness about the problem.

It happens in Nepal, too

February 18, 2009 By HKearl

Public transportation seems to be a great place for men to harass women. From India to Mexico to Japan to New York City to London, it is not an uncommon experience. Now I know it’s a problem in Nepal, too, thanks to a recent news article.

“Commuting in congested public transport vehicles is an ordeal in itself. Being subjected to sexual harassment at the same time makes the whole process an unbearable and unavoidable chore for the fairer sex; particularly those of such a young age.

Pushing and shoving is a common sight in buses and microbuses during morning and evening rush hours, and the intensity increases if there is a young lady around. The conversations of surrounding men begin to take on vulgar connotations.

While light-hearted flirting may add some spice to anotherwise unpleasant journey, getting physical crosses the line of decency, taking the fun out of it altogether.’We regularly face harassment while using public transport,’ says Pratima, a twelfth-grader at VS Niketan. ‘We don´t mind some friendly flirting, but they (boys) don´t stop at that and start to talk nonsense.’

‘We dread crowded buses, but we have to board them. We cannot miss our college, can we?’ her classmate Anita adds. ‘The khalasis (helpers/conductors) are always on a lookout for excuse to get their hands on us.’ ….

Lack of legal remedy doesn´t help matters. ‘There is no separate law to handle the issue. One can complain about such harassments under the Public Offense Act, but nothing much can be done as it is very difficult to provide concrete evidence of such offenses,’ says Rita Mainali, assistant professor in Human Rights and Gender Justice at the Kathmandu School of Law…”

The injustices women face just trying to get to and from work and school worldwide is depressing. Today, thinking about it also makes me feel tired and weighed down 🙁