Public Transport Harassment: Do Women Think It's Still A Persistent Issue?

Public Transport Harassment is an evil that women face daily. There are no specific laws made on this to protect women in India. 

However, in 2012 the Supreme Court of India issued certain directives to curb public transport harassment. Women police officers were directed to be present in plain clothing to observe instances of sexual harassment in public transport stations. CCTVs were to be installed. Persons in charge of public transport stations were asked to file cases of harassment as and when they received them. Public transport staff were required to report cases of harassment as well. Signboards warning against such misconduct were directed to be posted in public areas. A women's helpline specifically addressing sexual harassment was directed to be established. 

Despite such measures being directed toward the States and UTs, not all of these measures were adopted to their fullest potential. The issue of sexual harassment in public transport vehicles persists. 

In 2019, a student from Delhi took to her social media handle almost a year later to share her horrifying experience of sexual harassment on a metro. 

A middle-aged man had groped her breasts from behind and rubbed his genitals on her buttocks while masturbating. This incident left the student traumatised and affected their mental health to the point where they entirely avoided the metro for 7 months. 

Suggested Read: Will I Return Safely? Question That Every Female Worker And Student Asks

The Effect That Public Transport Harassment Has On Women 

SheThePeople reached out to students of Journalism for their opinion on public transport harassment and this is what they had to say. 

"A well-suited booted man or a middle-class man, neither category backs away from harassing women. I give them a cold stare. I know that if I can protect myself I can go anywhere," said Anupama Das

Vaishnavi Shukla said, "buses are the place where women are most harassed. I have not faced harassment on Motos yet because they have to follow a system, or else they would be reported and end up losing their jobs.  Middle-aged men in buses harass young girls. Harassment is the same in crowded and uncrowded buses. 

I have changed my routes out of the fear and trauma of being subjected to harassment repeatedly on the same route. However, at the end of the day, the route does not matter. Whichever route you take, it's how society is. 

There is no benefit of the doubt to accord in such cases. If you're making someone feel uneasy and uncomfortable, you cannot be given the benefit of doubt. Harassment is a habit for people who do it. They might momentarily stop if I react but they'll do it again when they see another girl in another bus."  

Poulami Paul sharing her views with SheThePeople said, "I faced harassment in an uncrowded bus. I was frozen. I was in school at the time. Buses are the most unsafe public transport yet. I feel safer in autos. I prefer AC buses as they are less crowded and a more sophisticated crowd can be expected. I avoid crowded buses because people can come close to me and touch me. In less crowded buses people might stare at me but I can always avoid them. At times one may misinterpret harassment because it's a crowded space but when it happens a second time, it becomes clear that it is intentional." 

Nipomita Moitra admitted to having judged a person incorrectly once. She shared the following, "I have faced public transport harassment on every single public transport, even where there are fewer people. The ones harassing are not afraid of any consequences. I faced harassment from someone my dad's age and for the longest while on the transport, I kept giving them the benefit of doubt. It taught me to listen to my inside voice when I feel something is not right.

I've even slapped a person and shouted. I ended up feeling ashamed upon being harassed after giving them the benefit of doubt and struggled to forgive myself. This is not how it should be because they are the ones at fault. 

'You knew it all along, why did you do this?' I find myself mentally asking them." 

"I faced harassment in the ladies' compartment of trains as well because when hawkers or beggars alight on the compartment they are not mindful of how they move. They will jostle for space and end up making me feel uncomfortable. 

I had once stepped inside a general compartment on a train and an older gentleman had placed his hand on my body. 

The way they stare at us, very little remains to be done with their hands, I feel.

I do not shout at them. I find it pointless because that is their mentality. I ask them sternly to stand properly," said Saheli Dutta who uses trains daily to travel. 

Women using public transport daily do not find themselves safe in it. Even a ladies' compartment isn't able to protect women from sexual harassment. How do women-led development outside of homes even begin, if they do not feel safe to step out?

The views expressed are the author's own.