Grace McGrenere talks to students about times they were harassed on public transit, and what is being done to help
It was night time and the bus was empty. Zahraa Chahrour, a third-year student at Carleton, was taking the bus home from the Rideau Centre.
During the trip two friends got on the bus, and one sat beside her.
Chahrour said it was weird since no one else was on the bus
“This is kind of weird, you know. There’s a bunch of empty seats and he is sitting right next to me,” said Chahrour.
Then he began to talk to Chahrour.
“He basically started to tell me that the government was watching us and that we needed to be careful. He was giving me this really crazy story. He wasn’t really scaring me,” she said. “He was just making me kind of uncomfortable, until he just reaches around and he puts his arm over my shoulder.”
“I look at him and then he looks at me, and then he just lifts up my hood and he puts it on my head. Then he starts to pat my back and the back of my head, and it was really, really weird and I was freaking out.”
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Zahraa Chahrour, third-year student at Carleton
According to Chahrour, the man was checking for “listening devices” and told her that he was trying to help her.
He left her alone once he reached his stop.
Since this incident, Chahrour sits at the back of the bus, so she can see who is on the bus and no one can sit behind her.
These kinds of incidents have happened to others.
Chelsea Robert, another third-year Carleton student, said she never thought she would be harassed on the bus. This has happened to her more than once.
The first time was after a late class. Robert was taking the long bus ride home to Orleans when the man sitting next to her tried to get her attention, by saying “hey” repeatedly.
“Just being really persistent and annoying I guess. Basically just verbally attacking me,” she said.
Roberts put her headphones back in to avoid conversation, but he kept trying to talk to her. He said he liked her style.
“I mean, that is just the stupidest thing ever because I’m wearing ripped jeans and a jacket,” said Robert.
According to Robert, the man became aggressive once she stopped responding to him, calling her a “stupid bitch.”
It was not until after another passenger intervened that Robert was left alone.
Robert was harassed on a second occasion, when a man put his hand on her thigh.
“He’s in his sixties, but then it gets to the point where he is not taking my social cue when I put my headphones back in and he is not respecting my space,” she said. “Then he decides to put his hand on my thigh and I just felt so trapped.” – Chelsea Robert, third-year student at Carleton
Like the first time, the man did not stop until another passenger intervened.
“It ruined my whole day. It ruined my whole week. I told my parents this because I was shocked, because I never thought that would happen,” said Roberts.
Reporting
According to Julie Lalonde, activist and founder of Hollaback! Ottawa, a movement that uses mobile technology to report street harassment, the vast majority of reports they received in 2013 were related to transit.
Lalonde approached OC Transpo with this information, asking to work together on the issue. However, Lalonde said OC Transpo chose not to work with her.
“They were incredibly resistant and downright hostile, frankly, and were really arguing that this is not a problem, that they don’t receive reports to the extent that we are saying the violence happened.”
In response to OC Transpo’s inaction, Lalonde hosted a town hall meeting encouraging women to come forward with their stories.
After women started coming forward, Hollaback! Ottawa and OC Transpo worked together to create the campaign, “Let OC Transpo Know” and developed one of Canada’s first anonymous reporting mechanisms for public transit.
According to Hollaback! Ottawa’s website, in 2015, 800 incidents had been reported to OC Transpo’s reporting mechanism since its establishment in 2013.
“There has been a massive increase in reporting—which, at first, people perceived to be a bad thing, but it’s actually a sign that women trust the system, and are actually using it.”
– Julia Lalonde, founder of Hollaback! Ottawa
Despite the increase, Courtney Royle, a third-year student at Carleton, said she was not aware of the option to report at the time of her incident.
“If I had to have gone in and talk to someone or call them [to report the incident], I probably wouldn’t have,” said Royle.
Royle, who is hard of hearing, was trying to understand what the man on the bus next to her was saying. When their conversation became quieter, Royle asked him to speak up.
Then he reached over and tried to touch her.
“And you know—he just kept looking at me with this look and this big smirk and he’s like, ‘Here I can help you with your hearing,’ and he tried to reach over and touch my ear,” Royle said.
Then, the bus turned a corner.
“He fell across the aisle and slammed me up against the wall and we kind of stayed like that for a couple seconds because he wasn’t small and I couldn’t get him off me. Then he backs away and goes ‘Oh, you know, I’m so sorry.'” Courtney Royle, third-year student at Carleton
Royle said she is unsure of what they could do to prevent harassment since each bus only has one operator.
According to a statement from OC Transpo, customers are encouraged to tell OC Transpo about any experience that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Operators also trained to respond to safety and security issues as part of the TRANSECURE program, according to the OC Transpo website.
They recommend using their online anonymous reporting database, or calling the special constable’s number, when reporting an incident.
OC Transpo’s Transecure program, trains employees on how to respond when someone feels unsafe or threatened, and incorporates a number of safety and security initiatives.
At night, passengers can use the Safe Stop program, which allows them to request that their bus operator drop them off at a safe location after 7 p.m. along their route, closer to their destination.
Night stops at major bus stations are well-lit and centrally located close to emergency call boxes and pay phones.
Next Stop
Lalonde said OC Transpo still has not met their recommendation on bystander intervention, a concept that hold passengers accountable to intervene.
“We are still pushing for folks to be educated on what to do and that includes thing like just checking in with someone if someone looks like they’re uncomfortable,” said Lalonde.
According to Lalonde, passengers can become proactive bystanders by checking in on people who look uncomfortable, and pushing the emergency button for them when necessary.
Royle, whose aunt informed her of the emergency buttons on the buses, said they should make people more aware of their safety measures.
“When I told her what had happened, she looked it up, and she told me that they have an emergency button for future reference, so maybe just making that more common knowledge,” Royle said.
Lalonde said there is room for improvement.
“It’s important for us to really drive home that this is a community of people using the same service and unless you are willing to give me a cheaper ticket than the guy standing beside me, you need to ensure that everybody has the same access to transit.”
Graphics by Paloma Callo
