Groping on public transportation is an issue across the globe. During rush hour
when people are packed so so close together that you can raise both feet from
the floor and remain upright, it is easy for a hand to slip where it shouldn’t be.
Because it’s so crowded, women cannot escape, and in countries like Japan
where politeness governs society, they find it hard to report sexual harassment.
As a result, commuter harassers often do not face any consequences, and the
problem continues to grow. Women and girls are not only being harassed, but
they are also being gang-raped and murdered on public transportation in
Thailand and India.
To combat this, many countries such as Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Egypt, India,
Thailand, and Nepal have been implementing women-only train cars. On these
train cars, women report feeling “free from the male stares and aggressions that
assault them elsewhere in the city.” Women are able to relax. They don’t have
to periodically check around them to make sure they’re not being groped or
stared at. They don’t have to worry about drawing attention to themselves or
revealing too much information in earshot of possible stalkers. They don’t have
to hear uncomfortable comments. Many women prefer these cars because
they decrease the risk of sexual assault. Many men also like it because it eases
their fear of being falsely accused of harassment.
However, many men do not respect segregated cars. In India and Brazil, it is
common for groups of men to ride illegally in women-only cars. Women are too
afraid to protest. When a woman told a man to leave a women-only car in Brazil,
he flipped her off and became aggressive. He had to be restrained.
I believe women-only cars are necessary to reduce sexual harassment on
public transportation. Considering ¼ of women in Nepal have been sexually
harassed on public transportation, something obviously needs to be done, and
I think women-only cars are a great start.
However, we need to mindful of its effects on victim-blaming. Now, if a woman
is groped on the train but it’s not a women-only car, people ask, “Why wasn’t
she in the women-only car if she didn’t want to be harassed?” It’s almost as
if men see women not in the women-only car as an invitation.
It’s also only a temporary solution. Society can’t only protect them during their
commute. What about street harassment? Here in the Bay area, I have been
whistled at and men have called, “Legs, legs, legs!” What about harassment at
work? Sixty percent of women have experienced sexual harassment in the
workplace.
We need to start working on a real solution. We need to foster a supportive
environment where women will not feel judged if they report their harassment.
We need to continue the empowerment of the Me Too movement worldwide.
This way, we can expose harassers, and they can realize their actions have
consequences. Women shouldn’t have to be constantly forced to take
measures to protect ourselves. It’s them that need to change.
Sources:
I think this is very interesting and the idea that victim blaming would only get worse because they would have the option of riding in different cars is very powerful. I think in countries like Japan also has to do with school uniforms. I know for young girls their is an issue with people on public transit taking photos up their short skirts. These skirts however are part of the school uniform and the school girl aesthetic culture so I think it would be even more unfair to blame them as victims.
ReplyDeleteAs a women, I definitely see a lot of validity in the purpose of these train cars. Many people (men) don't understand how scary it is to be groped and not able to escape. For a women, it's not as easy as just saying "stop that!", because they fear of the situation getting worse (them becoming more aggressive). I liked how you brought up the fact that men see it as an invitation when women aren't in the women only cars, because maybe there wasn't enough room in that cart and they had no choice but to go in the every gender one. It would become a problem if that becomes normalized (men thinking its ok to grope a women simply because they didn't go in the women-only one). I think there needs to be clear laws stating no matter the circumstance you will be arrested for groping a women, as well as camera's installed in train cars.
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