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  • Writer's pictureSarah Orozco

The threat of sexual harassment is preventing people from using public transportation, a sus



When 13-year-old D.C. resident Isabella Wirth made plans to attend a friend’s Fourth of July party, she didn’t know her Metro commute there would change her life.


“I was barely a teenager and thought I was going to get raped and murdered and I still think about it sometimes,” said Wirth.


She was followed, which is considered harassment and potentially sexual harassment because it involves unwanted sexual advances and harassment in a sexual nature, or based on sex.


While public transportation is often considered one of the important ways to make a city sustainable, a University of Calgary review stated that it doesn’t work if women are too scared to use it.



Following the 2018 Street Harassment Prevention Act, the Office of Human rights conducted a report that found street harassment is common in D.C. and occurs most frequently on the street or sidewalk, on public transportation, and at nightlife venues. Women, LGBTQIA+ people, people of color, and other already-marginalized groups are most likely to be subject to this harassment. Street harassment includes


The sexual harassment that occurs on public transportation varies in severity.


Liz, a DC metro patron, characterized the various instances of verbal harassment as “annoying.”


An 18-year-old woman who asked to remain anonymous frustratedly described a man masturbating during her two-stop ride.



Hannah-Grace Henson was told that someone was using a mirror to look up her skirt, making her uncomfortable and scared.


“Since Uber has been a thing, I’ll often opt to take Uber [rather than the Metro] if I’m wearing heels, or if I’m wearing an outfit that -- though honestly the attention comes no matter what you’re wearing” said Liz (last name omitted), who was waiting for her train on the Eastern Market platform.


According to a 2018 study from New York City, many women use alternate forms of transportation due to the threat of harassment, and at much higher rates than men. For Wirth, her avoidance of the metro was severe.


“I didn't ride the metro alone for years afterward and it was one of the reasons why I moved away at such a young age to live with my grandmother in Wisconsin,” she said.


The problem of harassment on public transportation and outdoors is an environmental issue. With transportation accounting for a third of US greenhouse gas emissions according to the US Department of Transportation, it is a key sector to address in order to mitigate climate change and other environmental issues. For examp


le, the estimated CO2 emissions per passenger mile on light rail like Metro are almost a third of those when taking a personal car. That is using average occupancy, however, and emissions drop by half when there is full occupancy.


The financial cost of avoiding public transportation due to sexual harassment has been described as a “pink tax,” the phenomenon where women pay more for the same services. Many women cannot afford to make that choice at all, leading lower-income people to potentially put themselves in greater danger. Therefore it may be an issue of economic equity.


In addition to the economic, legal, and environmental impacts, the psychological toll is perhaps the most significant effect of street harassment.



Across the board, sexual harassment that occurs in public spaces has a strong impact on the victim. This was noted in the OHR report, with many participants describing feelings of depression and anxiety.


The OHR and individual victims have three responses to this issue: One, intervention from passengers, passers-by, and authority figures. This also involves police response. Two, education, such as the public service campaign the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) has in their stations and deeper education to prevent potential perpetrators from developing the mindset that harassment is appropriate. Third, some people don’t believe any solution will have a meaningful impact.


Wirth said “the best way to address sexual harassment is to make sure people know that they will be punished, called out, and shamed if they do so. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.”



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