Sexual Harassment on Subways Still Not Derailed: Problem Could Grow More Costly
by Leslie E. Adkins
Riding the W train to Canal Street in early September I wasn’t alarmed by the man lying on the seats in front of the subway map. I simply leaned over him and scanned the poster. Yet what happened 30 seconds later remains imprinted on my brain. I’d noticed him shift, but it wasn’t until a kind bystander on the train approached me did I know that the sleeping man on the seats was actually wide-awake and attempting to look up my skirt.
Ads like the one above have appeared in New York City subways since 2008. (New York Transit Authority)
The Police Department’s Transit Bureau reported that as of Nov. 15, there have been 587 sexual offenses on the subway reported to their office. Peak times for reported incidents are during the early morning rush, 8-10 a.m., and late afternoon, from 4 to 6 p.m. A notable source of complaints are the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 trains between Grand Central Terminal and Union Square.
The report was provided during a joint city council hearing on Nov. 19 between the committees on transportation, women’s issues and public safety. The committees summoned officials from the Police Department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to discuss the problem of sexual harassment and related offenses on the subway system.
The police have arrested 412 people for sex offenses this year. According to the police, 71 of the offenders had committed prior sexual offenses and 14 were registered sex offenders. Five of the 14 were the most serious level of sex offender, Level 3. The average age of offenders is 39 years old; the average age for offenders in other subway crimes is significantly younger, at the 17-25-age range.
Transit Bureau chief James P. Hall called this sexual harassment “the “No. 1 quality of life offense on the subway.”
Queens Councilman John C. Lui, who was elected the city’s comptroller, disagreed with the chief’s statement.
“It’s an issue of safety, safety of women in the subway,” he said.
The Lexington Avenue 4 Express train is part of a line with a high number of sexual harassment reports (Google Images).
Last year the transit authority started a public awareness campaign against sexual harassment after a survey by the Manhattan borough president’s office showed that a large proportion of women had been harassed on the subway. The campaign includes ads and on-board subway announcements.
The campaign could prove to be more economically taxing than previously thought. The campaign, which originally ran for three months in 2008, is only slated to run through January 2010; continuing the program means more dedicated funds to support it. Councilmembers suggested printing pamphlets on rights and reporting procedures, another possible expense. Also, continuing the on-board announcements in subway cars could become more costly. The on-board announcements are recorded in newer trains but are read in the older trains. Councilmembers mentioned replacing these poor sound systems in an effort to increase the potential impact of the announcements.
During the hearing a councilwoman questioned how effective the public announcements were and if women felt discouraged to report harassment, despite the widely advertised anti-harassment campaign. Liu mentioned the installation of cameras, which he believed would deter crimes and help catch offenders.
As the discussion continues, new initiatives are developing to protect the number of women who groped, flashed, harassed and even attacked in the subway each day.
There are new steps to thwart would-be offenders. Recently, advocates formed a new organization to fight subway sexual harassment. New Yorkers for Safe Transit arose out of a coalition of groups involved in a report by the Manhattan borough president’s report in 2007. The group supported a bill, introduced the week of the hearing, that that would require the police to collect data on sexual harassment in the subways.
Other deterrents have a more immediate effect. Queens Councilman Peter F. Vallone, Jr., chairman of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, also proposed a “wall of shame,” comprising photos of those convicted of sex offenses on the subway.
Hey Missy, do you ride these trains? Have you had any problems like this? The cops need to get more serious about this, it’s only one small step from groping to stabbing or something else really horrible. OK, yes it’s a big city with a lot of people but still the number of complaints, 587, is a lot. Additionally, I’ll bet less than half the women being preyed upon even bother to report it – who has the time to bother with calling the cops, waiting for them to show up, filing a report……I don’t have the answer but it seems the cops should be working harder on this. Doesn’t sound like a place tourists would want to visit! Sure doesn’t sound like a place an Iowa lady would want to visit.
Interesting article. It’s nice to read that the police are taking this issue seriously and that advocacy groups have formed to bring more attention to and fight this issue. The anti-harassment campaign should absolutely continue and riders should keep looking out for their fellow passengers and warning each other.
Another good article, disturbing yet the more attention brought to this and the more we fight it, the better!