Sexual assault on mass transit is a problem the world over. But is legislating against it, as NYC's subway is doing, the answer?
New York is a leader in the legislative fight against sexual harassment in the subways, and its newest proposition is a law that aims to upgrade unwanted sexual contact from a misdemeanor to a felony. The escalation also turns "sexually motivated touching" into a sex crime with the possibility of jail time. I applaud lawmakers' effort to address this critical issue, but I am not convinced that harsher punishments for sexual harassment on the subway will yield the desired effect.
The most lamentable aspect of taking public transportation as a woman is enduring the unsavory boys and men who exploit the shared space and put our safety in jeopardy. Masturbation, sexual assault, rape and whatever you call what this guy was doing are the more invasive (not to mention illegal) behaviors that disrupt our journeys. Women understand that most men don't engage in this brand of sexual violence, and we applaud the many men who take action to disrupt this injustice when it occurs. But the number of guys who are doing these things is sizable enough to make most women suspicious and uneasy during our commutes.
Subway harassment isn't only a problem for women in New York City: Boston, Chicago and, recently, Washington, DC have all implemented ad campaigns to raise awareness about the issue and encourage riders to report incidents. And across the globe in Beijing, a furious debate erupted in August after the Shanghai No 2 Metro Operation Company issued a public statement blaming harassment on women who wear sexy clothing. Transportation in cities in Egypt, Japan and India have women-only sections, where the hope is that separation might actually equal increased public safety. Still, the problem persists across cultures and national borders.
By the time women become teens, we are intimately familiar with the dangers that come with entering public space. (Though, let's be real, our homes, schools and workplaces aren't that safe either.) We've been harassed and assaulted. We've been dismissed by police after being harassed and assaulted. We've been harassed and assaulted by police. We've been blamed by judges after being harassed and assaulted by police. We've been jailed for defending ourselves against harassment and assault.
For women, as a Bengali idiom deftly states, there's a tiger on land and a crocodile in the water.
When lawmakers cut taxes on the wealthy that fund public transportation, it results in service decreases that mean riders spend more time in the transit system. It also leads to layoffs of transit employees who could be monitoring safety and holding violators accountable for infractions. Instead, crime is increasing in the New York City subways, not because our laws aren't tough enough already, but because the ones that exist aren't adequately enforced.
Hence, my skepticism about the effectiveness of the newly proposed legislation.
A statement from Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's office reads:
"The City Police Department receives over 1,000 complaints a year for public lewdness or forcible touching."
Only 1,000 complaints? In 2011, the New York weekday subway ridership averaged 5.3m. With millions of women taking the subway every day, the number of complaints police receive seems implausibly, worryingly low.
According to a 2007 survey about sexual violence in the subway conducted by the Manhattan borough president's office, only 4% of people who are sexually harassed on the subway report the incident. This finding fueled a citizen-led advocacy effort that prompted public service announcements on buses and trains. But five years later, the numbers still strongly suggest that a majority of violated riders do not make formal complaints.
In a climate where Republican elected officials make scientifically unsound statements about "legitimate rape" and blame an 11-year-old gang rape victim "because she was dressed like a 21-year-old prostitute", it's no surprise that victims of sexual violence choose to remain silent. They may post blurry cellphone photos on blogs with semi-anonymous stories of outrage, but precious few resort to the institutional mechanisms that have been established to ensure their safety. Until we get to the root of what the barriers are and take the steps necessary to remove them, creating harsher legislation is simply spinning wheels.
Some groups, like Collective Action for Safe Spaces (Cass), are already leading the way by drawing on local expertise and creating strategic, community-driven, innovative solutions addressing the issues that impact on one's willingness to report a crime. Recognizing street harassment as a complex and multifaceted issue: Cass takes a comprehensive approach by combining direct services, online and offline advocacy, grassroots movement-building and education and training. It works in coalition with other likeminded organizations in our nation's capital, and it is creating a model that can be adapted elsewhere in the US and the world.
Our right to be secure in public spaces is at the forefront of justice movements all over the globe. It's exciting to know that, one day, this blight affecting us all will come to an end, not as a result of tougher laws, but because concerned citizens are standing up and demanding the right to live more dignified lives.