Metro Magazine

MAY 2013

Magazine serving the bus and rail transit & motorcoach operations since 1904

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metro news Transit partners with advocacy groups to prevent sexual assault t Something" app. The app allows riders to send a message and photo of the offender to transit police. As an added safety feature, the app automatically disables the phone's flash. "One of the suggestions we made to our passengers is if you can safely do so, take a photo with your phone of the offender and send it to us," Chief Paul MacMillan, MBTA Transit Police, said. "If we don't know the individual — [many] are chronic offenders — we will send that picture to the media and ask for the public's help in identifying [them]." embarrassed by you calling them out," MacMillan explained. "Most importantly, report it to the police. We take that information and target our resources to the areas where incidents are occurring." When MBTA first started the campaign, it saw a 58% increase in the number of sexual harassment and assault reports, showing that they are underreported crimes. Meanwhile, last year when Metro was alerted by an advocacy group that its riders didn't feel safe, the agency immediately licensed MBTA's PSA cam- gers to communicate with them about the incidents. The two systems also shared a Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Fenway Health and the MBTA formed a partnership to revive an initiative started in 2008 to combat sexual assault and harassment on the transit system. The campaign puts across a clear, strong message that inappropriate behavior and illegal sexual touching will not be tolerated and urges riders to report these incidents and take action to prevent them. MBTA put up posters in trains and buses that now feature QR codes that direct riders to a Web page with a downloadable "See Something, Say MBTA's revived initiative against sexual assault included new posters and a "See Something, Say Something" app. paign, which the Boston-based agency provided free of charge. To develop its response, like MBTA, the transit system worked with local advocacy groups, including Collective Action for Safe Spaces (formerly HollaBack DC!); DC Rape Crisis Center; and Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. The situation came to Metro's attention after Collective Action advocates testified in front of the Washington, D.C. City Council early last year, sharing reports from its website of people who had been victimized on the system. "They felt that there wasn't enough being done," Caroline Lukas, manager, media relations, said. "It was the first time it had been [brought] to our Photo credit: MBTA ransit systems and advocacy groups are teaming up to empower riders to stop sexual assault and harassment, using new campaigns and communication tools. The anti-violence groups heard about incidents from passengers and advised transit operators, including the Massachusetts Bay Area Transportation Authority (MBTA), the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (Metro) and Ottawa's OC Transpo, on taking preventive steps. In response, MBTA provided an app and Metro created a Web portal for passen- 4 < mETRO mAGAZINE MAY 2013 MacMillan said that the campaign is now more diverse in its reach with the recent partnership with Fenway Health, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. Posters also now convey that men as well as women may be victims of harassment or assault. To empower passengers to respond to an incident when it happens to them, he added, the first thing they should do is tell their fellow passengers what is happening. "We find that most of these types of offenders are non-violent and [will] be metro-magazine.com

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