Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

High rates of subway sexual harassment in Korea and Japan

By

Two weeks ago The Korean Times reported that sexual harassment on the subway in Seoul is up 26 percent since last year.

“The incidents include male offenders trying to grope women or take pictures up their skirts.

A total of 345 cases were reported in the first half of this year. In April, when unusually high temperatures hit the nation, such offenses reached a high of 78 and since then, more than 50 cases have been reported each month, police said.

Most of the offenders said they did it out of curiosity.

The actual number of cases might be higher than the published data because many women are afraid of reporting the incidents, a police spokeswoman said.”

I wonder if there were unusually low reports of sexual harassment last year to make the 26 percent jump this year or were reports indeed higher this year than in years past?

At the end of 2007, The Korea Times reported that women-only subway cars were to be reintroduced in Seoul in 2008 as part of an effort to curb sexual harassment of female passengers. Two cars of each subway train on all lines were designated just for women. The current article doesn’t address the women-only cars and whether or not that has had an impact.

Speaking of countries with women-only subway cars, The Japan Times just published an article about subway groping in Tokyo. Last year in Tokyo alone there were 2,000 reported cases of men groping women! From the article:

“According to an MPD study last year, most attacks occurred on trains, primarily during morning rush hours.

Almost half of the victims were in their 20s and more than 30 percent were teenagers.

Last year saw police process 2,169 ordinance violations — the lowest number in the past four years. Police attributed the fall to the 2005 introduction of female-only train cars.”

The article goes on to cover information like “how can someone avoid being a victim?” and “can innocent people be convicted?” without any information about the men who engage in this behavior and how to make them STOP! Because guess what, women wouldn’t have to avoid being a victim and innocent men wouldn’t be falsely accused if there was no groping!!

Share

Boston T Anti-Harassment Campaign Update

By

boston-anti-grope-campaign-sign-2It’s been a year since the MBTA launched a public awareness campaign about sexual harassment on the Boston transit (the T). Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan recently said, “This campaign has been highly effective in addressing this persistent issue. Not only have more victims reported this crime, but because of their reports, we have been able to arrest more and more of the offenders.”

The Boston Globe reports that since the campaign launched, the number of groping complaints increased 74 percent. Over the same period, police arrested 24 people for indecent assault and battery, which was an increase of 85 percent from the year before.

I had been wondering what the results of their campaign would be and I’m glad to hear it seems to be positive as far as raising awareness among riders that groping is illegal and encouraging people to report it when it happens.

When I read the article, there were 25 comments from readers. Most of the opening comments were from men concerned that women were overreacting to being on crowded trains and were probably reporting innocent men. Fortunately, many other commenters then jumped in either sharing their experience being obviously groped on the T or defending women who know the difference between groping and just being sardined on a crowded train. Good for them. Educate the ignorant!

Do you take the T? Do you think the anti-harassment campaign has had an impact during the past year?

Share

T Groping in Boston Leads to Arrest

By

Transit police in Boston, MA, are working with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) to address low level sexual harassment on public transportation (ie street harassment) and Gina Scaramella, executive director of BARCC says twice as many people are reporting incidents since the campaign launched.

The Boston Globe describes a recent incident that ended in arrest:

“Jose Carlos Delacruz, 24, was accused of touching at least three women in an inappropriate manner around 10 p.m. Friday on the train in Brookline.

After allegedly groping one of the women, Delacruz then moved on to the two others and touched them inappropriately, according to transit police. When another man tried to place himself between Delacruz and the women, the suspect pushed him and continued trying to grope the women, the police said.

The train stopped at Coolidge Corner, where an MBTA inspector detained Delacruz until police arrived. When police arrived, he became combative and started cursing loudly at the officers, transit police said. It took three officers to subdue him, police said.

Police charged Delacruz with indecent assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and three counts of assault and battery.”

Transit police advise riders who are groped to “move away to the best of their ability and to draw attention to the attacker and enlist the help of fellow riders. ‘If possible, get a picture of the individual with your cellphone,’ said Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan. ‘It’s one of the best ways for us to catch the attacker.'”

Police awareness & sensitivity & collaboration with a rape crisis center all sound very promising as does the fact that this perhaps serial groper is getting regulated for his behavior. Keep it up Boston! And gropers, stop groping!

Share

NY Subway Harasser Arrested!

By

From the Associated Press:

“NEW YORK (AP) — Police arrested a man accused of taking a cell phone picture under a subway rider’s skirt after the victim said she used her own phone to snap back. The 28-year-old woman said she was victimized last month while climbing stairs to an elevated station in upper Manhattan. A passer-by confirmed her suspicion that he had taken a photo up her skirt, she said.

She followed the suspect onto a train, took his picture, then e-mailed it to police and filed a report. “I told him `smile’ because I am going to the police,” the woman told The New York Times.

Aaron Olivieri was arrested Tuesday on misdemeanor charges of attempted unlawful surveillance, attempted sexual abuse and harassment. He was nabbed in a Manhattan subway station by an officer who said he matched the person in the photo the woman had taken, authorities said.

His lawyer, Rigodis Appling, did not immediately return a call for comment on Friday.”

What a great story! Everything came together for success – there was a witness, the person had the initial reaction to take the photo, the person had the energy/time to report the incident, & the police seemed to respond appropriately. Hopefully more people will be inspired to fight back too!

Share