Group response to Experts from: TTC, METRAC and Metro Toronto Police (1986)

Moving Forward: Making Transit Safer for Women.

City of Toronto is making changes towards the safety of women. Unfortunately there are
many women who are still victimized for assault in our Toronto transit system. Moving
Forward: Making Transit Safer for Women is an article based upon how the experiences
of women who were sexually assaulted have affected them but also our current TTC
systems.
For many years the public transit has been the target site for many assaults and crimes
toward women. Women have been living in fear to get around the city everyday because
they may be the next victim of sexual assault. The article stated that Toronto was one of
the first cities to implement policies for the rights of women in public transits. It makes
women like us feel very safe that TTC is making an effort to recognize our safety.
Toronto is greatly populated by women, for most women TTC is their only way of
transportation. The fear of sexual assault will cause them to have a lack of contact with
society. This can cause women to not be able to get educated and not have a stable career.
My group was surprised of how many women were psychologically affected because of
attempted assault and rape. The percentage of women who committed suicide because of
attempted and completed rape was about 30%. The more shocking aspect was the women
who were not victims still live in fear it might happen once in their lives. The article had
stated out of 23 respondents who had been sexually assaulted or harassed on the TTC,
only five chose to report them. Out of the five women who had reported the incident two
of them had not been taken seriously. One of the women said I tried to report. I was told
that I was imagining things, as it was rush hour, etc. My group found that more women
should have escalated their experience with assault to a higher authority if they were not
taken seriously. Overall my group was pleased that Toronto is making small changes like
hiring more women drivers to make others feel comfortable to ride alone, having more
TTC security around the subway platforms and creating a more safe society for women to
be in.