Toulouse. Transport: stop harassment
Four years after “Me too”, acts of harassment are regularly denounced by women. Public transport is no exception. SNCF and Tisseo for new actions in Toulouse.
Three weeks ago, while traveling by train between Toulouse and L’Isle-Jourdain, Isabelle witnesses a scene of harassment. A well-dressed man in his forties sits next to a young woman as there are plenty of empty seats left. He told her that he would not speak and began to talk to him, yet she made him understand that she did not want to. “Travelers come to the aid of the passenger. Feeling supported, she changes places and settles down next to Isabelle. The discussion begins, she confides to him that the man has never stopped “sticking” her and talking to her as soon as they were on the platform. Isabelle wonders about these behaviors. “I am tired of all the scandals of” Me Too “, I also understand my friends who feel surrounded by the bad role that the news gives them and I sometimes think that is too much. But I realize that no, that we do not feel safe, that we still have to denounce, that people know that being a woman, and even more a young woman is difficult, that we must be sure. defensive all the time. “In transport or the train, how many women have already suffered harassment? Difficult to have precise figures. The results of surveys were carried out by Tisséo in 2019 among 437 Toulouse transport passengers revealed that nearly 37% of them had been victims of acts of sexist harassment, against 41% the previous year. Since 2017, Tisséo, in collaboration with several associations such as Dare to feminism 31 and the Human Rights League, has set up a series of actions “to fight, on a daily basis, against all forms of violence in its spaces”, and in particular gender-based violence.
Cameras in buses, subways and trams
Last concrete action: on November 25, the transport network launched an on-demand descent system on Linéo 1 and 2 buses. Nicolas Misiak, president of Tisséo Voyageurs, also specifies that all buses, trainsets and trams in the network will become surveillance cameras by 2025, which will facilitate complaint procedures. Another action that should be launched in the 1st quarter of 2022: the “Walking” diagnosis. “A group made up of ten high school girls and mothers will stroll on the multimodal exchange hub of the Arènes. Following this stroll, we will collect the words and feelings of women. The data will be made public and will make it possible to knowledge of the actors “, underlines Karine Deltour, of Osez Le Féminisme 31. The SNCF specifies for its part that it has set up an emergency number which can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to report a situation that presents a risk. This is 3 117. At the same time, “900 agents have been recruited since 2016, to increase the network”. In addition, “plainclothes patrols have been hired to effectively combat sexual and gender-based violence.”
A new service: descent on demand
On November 25, Toulouse Métropole announced the experimentation of an on-demand descent device on Linéo 1 and 2 buses, intended for travelers using the evening network. The experiment will last until June 30, 2022. This device consists of offering all travelers the possibility, in particular when they are likely to experience a feeling of insecurity, to ask the driver to get off between two bus stops in order to ” to be brought closer to its destination. Device on Linéo 1 (between Sept-Deniers and Salvador Dali / Fonsegrives Entiore – from 9 p.m., the terminus is at the Gymnase de l’Hers) and 2 (Colomiers Lycée International and Arènes) between 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. .In the event of violence, you can call 3919, the “violence women info” number reachable, anonymously and free of charge, from 9 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday.