Where are the world's most dangerous transit systems for women?
October 29, 2014 -- Updated 0005 GMT (0805 HKT)
Women surveyed in
Jakarta, Indonesia, were the second-most supportive of implementing
women-only carriages on trains to prevent harassment.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Thomson Reuters Foundation says six in 10 women in major Latin American cities report having been physically harassed while using transport systems
- Bogota, Colombia, found to have the most unsafe public transport, followed by Mexico City and Lima
- New York rated as the best of the 16 cities followed by Tokyo, Beijing and London
According to the new
report, six in 10 women in major Latin American cities report they've
been physically harassed while using transport systems, with Bogota,
Colombia, found to have the most unsafe public transportation, followed
by Mexico City and Lima, Peru.
At the other end of the
safety spectrum, New York was rated as the best of the 16 cities studied
followed by Tokyo, the world's largest capital with 38 million people,
then Beijing and London.
The poll was conducted in
15 of the world's largest capitals, as well as New York, the most
populous city in the United States, in collaboration with UK polling
company YouGov.
Here are the results, from ranked from worst to best:
1. Bogota, Colombia
2. Mexico City
3. Lima, Peru
4. New Delhi
5. Jakarta, Indonesia
6. Buenos Aires
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8. Bangkok
9. Moscow
10. Manila, Philippines
11. Paris
12. Seoul
13. London
14. Beijing
15. Tokyo
16. New York
In total, 6,555 women and experts were surveyed.
Results are based on the
respondents' answers as well as surveys of experts in women's rights,
gender equality, urban planning and gender-friendly urban spaces in each
of the cities.
The Thomson Reuters
Foundation said polling could not be conducted in five other large
capitals -- Cairo, Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of
the Congo), Tehran and Baghad -- due to conflict or an inability by
polling company YouGov to guarantee the necessary online sample of
women.
The group says it did
survey 10 experts in Cairo, the world's fifth largest capital, but those
findings were not included in the overall ranking as YouGov could not
carry out the public poll.
Had they been included,
it would have put Cairo in the top five most dangerous transport
systems, said the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Most dangerous transport systems for women.
What constitutes harassment?
The foundation says the
survey was conducted in many different cultures, and allowed respondents
to judge what constituted harassment in their own society.
Women were asked six
questions relating to: how safe they felt traveling alone at night; the
risk of being verbally harassed by men; the risk of being groped or
subjected to other forms of physical harassment; trust that other
passengers would assist a woman being physically or verbally abused; and
trust in authorities to investigate reports of sexual harassment or
violence.
In Moscow, respondents
reportedly had little confidence that authorities would investigate an
abuse report, while 85% of Paris women doubted fellow public transport
users would come to their rescue if they were in trouble.
In an accompanying
Thompson Reuters Foundation report based on the survey, Mary Crass, head
of policy at the International Transport Forum, an OECD think tank,
said it was worrying that women were scared to use public transport in
some major cities and the poll highlighted the need for more action.
"When there is not
frequent, reliable, accessible transport, this can affect women and
anyone's ability to access opportunity and notably employment in urban
areas, which can make a big difference for women in particular," she
said.
"(Women) tend to be more
reliant on public transport and on non-motorized means, particularly in
low-income or middle-income countries, in emerging economies."
Women-only cars a short-term fix, say experts
Tokyo's high standing
may come as a surprise to those familiar with the highly publicized
problems women have faced when riding Japanese subways, with widespread
reports of groping consistently making headlines.
The Thompson Reuters
Foundation said experts attributed Tokyo's second place ranking to a
raft of measures taken in the city over recent years to combat such
incidents in often overcrowded buses and trains.
These include the introduction of women-only trains in 2000, which are color-coded in pink, and transit police to enforce rules.
Women-only sections on public transport are now also found in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Delhi, Cairo and Manila.
Thomson Reuters
Foundation said other cities, including London, are considering this
option and introducing CCTV on platforms and improving lighting.
However, gender and city planning experts have raised concerns over whether women-only transport is effective.
Julie Babinard, senior
transport specialist from the World Bank, says they're a short term fix
and not a panacea for harassment of women.
"The emerging interest
in several countries on women-only initiatives should be seen as an
opportunity for improving security in cities but not as a silver bullet
for dealing with gender-based violence in transportation and urban
settings," Babinard told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"Women-only initiatives
are not likely to provide long-term solutions as they only segregate by
gender and provide a short-term remedy instead of addressing more
fundamental issues."
Although experts remain critical of single-sex transport, most women favored the idea, according to the survey.
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