Women’s Issues in Transportation: Summary of the 4th International Conference, Volume 2: Technical Papers (2011)

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85 How Does Fear of Sexual Harassment on Transit Affect Women’s Use of Transit? Hsin-Ping Hsu, University of California, Irvine The purpose of this study is to understand how women’s fear of sexual harassment on transit changes their tran- sit use and travel behavior. The study, which employed a qualitative research approach, found that cultural dif- ferences are important to women’s perceptions of sexual harassment and women’s attitudes about adequate policy responses. Yet cultural differences are not as important as the availability of a car in influencing how women modify their use of transit in response to sexual harassment. Thus, a feasible and effective policy addressing this issue should take the cultural context into consideration. Sexual harassment and fear of sexual harassment on transit can change women’s use of transit, and it has become a noticeable issue both in the United States and around the world. For instance, in the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s, one in eight women surveyed said that they felt so unsafe on public transport that they avoided using it (Hough 1995). In Japan in 2005, women-only carriages were introduced in some Tokyo subway lines to crack down on groping (McCurry 2005). In Mexico in 2008, female-only buses were rolled out to respond to complaints from women’s groups (Rodriguez 2008). Other countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Dubai, India, and Nepal have implemented similar strategies. In New York in 2007, a large-scale online survey was con- ducted to gather information on sexual harassment and assault on the subway in order to develop strategies to address the problem (Stringer 2007). In Jakarta, Indo- nesia, a 2008 bus survey showed that 90% of female respondents support the plan to allocate buses exclu- sively for women because of safety and comfort (Asrianti 2008). The relationship between sexual harassment and women’s use of transit needs additional study. ReseaRch Questions Although the problem is well-known, the degree to which sexual harassment and fear of sexual harassment on transit change women’s use of transit is unknown. Does it change differently across the characteristics of female riders, harassment types, and transit systems? Is there any pattern to these changes? Can the determinants that translate fear of sexual harassment into change of travel behavior be found? All these questions are exam- ined in this research project. The results should provide information about security issues women face when traveling by public transit, how these factors affect travel decisions, and how to remove these transit barriers and enhance women’s mobility. hypothesis and implications The literature shows that women’s feelings of security are affected by many different factors, such as age, race, knowledge about violence, economic status, frequency of use of transportation mode, activity levels, time of day, lighting, graffiti, and cleanliness (Lynch and Atkins 1988). However, such a complexity of factors makes it even more difficult to say that women with particu-

86 wOMeN’S ISSUeS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOLUMe 2 lar demographic characteristics will modify their use of public transit in a certain way because of their fears of sexual harassment. Also, it is unrealistic to imagine the detailed pattern of change in travel behaviors before any data or evidence is available. To simplify the question and to make the research project feasible, the following hypothesis was made: women’s perceptions and fear of sexual harass- ment on transit are culturally specific. However, once they are aware of their vulnerability to sexual harassment on transit, female choice riders will avoid taking transit and female nonchoice riders will modify their use of transit, which will lead to inconvenience and discomfort. Several terms in the hypothesis need to be defined and explained carefully. First, “choice riders” refers to people who have access to an automobile, so they can choose whether to travel by public transit; “nonchoice riders” refers to people who have no access to automobiles, so they have no choice but to travel by public transit. Non- choice riders may be physically incapable of driving a car or economically unable to afford one. Second, the defini- tion of sexual harassment adopted for this study comes from the 2007 New York City subway survey, in which sexual harassment was defined as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, including flashing, groping, fondling, and public masturbation” (Stringer 2007). Though there are other definitions of sexual harassment, the one from the 2007 New York City sub- way survey was chosen simply because the survey is trans- portation related, and, therefore, the definition might be more suitable for the present research purpose. Moreover, because the aim in this research project is to examine the link between women’s fear of sexual harassment and their modifications of transit use, what really matters is per- ceived vulnerability rather than actual vulnerability; that is, the choice of definition of sexual harassment is not so crucial to the research project. Third, “[female choice and nonchoice riders] who are aware of their vulnerability to sexual harassment on transit” means that women under- stand that sexual harassment might happen on public transit and they might be victimized when riding public transit. The goal is to explore how women’s different lev- els of fear of sexual harassment on transit change their use of transit, so the aim in this research project is women’s own perceptions of sexual harassment on transit. Lastly, there are many possible ways for women to modify their use of transit, including use only at specific times, use only with a companion, changing their destination, and reduc- ing their activity levels. It was expected that the research participants would offer different ways of modified use of transit. If the hypothesis is true, then to retain or increase ridership, local governments and transit agencies need to reduce the inconvenience and discomfort caused by sexual harassment on transit. The results of this research project can provide insights and suggestions for strategy development and further improvement. liteRatuRe Review Though the present research only focuses on women’s fear of sexual harassment on public transit, this research topic is in fact embedded in three broader elements: women, crime, and space. Much beneficial and useful research has been done to explain the interactions of these three elements: women’s fear of crime, crime and the built environment, and the spatial distribution of women’s fear of crime. Fear of crime, especially women’s fear of crime, has drawn much attention in contemporary criminology. Researchers have found two paradoxes in women’s fear of crime. First, despite the fact that men are at a higher risk for victimization, women are much more afraid of crime. Second, though women feel less secure in public spaces, they are more likely to be victimized in private places (valentine 1989; Pain 1991; Scott 2003). In the past several decades, many efforts have been made to explain these two paradoxes and to explore how wom- en’s fear of crime is formed and developed. Is there any pattern to women’s fear of crime across demographic, psychological, and social characteristics? How does fear of crime affect women’s daily activities and lifestyles? And what can be done to reduce women’s fear of crime and enhance their sense of safety and security? These issues can be divided into three main categories: social psychology, environment and behavior, and feminist geography. The aim of the social psychology approach is to find the factors that affect women’s fear of crime; the research methods adopted are positive and quantitative. Usually data are collected by various crime surveys, and respondents are asked to provide their sociodemographic characteristics and rate their levels of fear in different situations. By applying adequate regression analysis, researchers have found that sociodemographic variables such as age, race, education level, marital status, house- hold income, and area of residence are all strongly related to women’s fear of crime (Junger 1987). For example, both younger and older women who are single, minor- ity, of lower socioeconomic class, and living in urban areas report a higher level of fear of crime (Keane 1998). In addition, sociopsychological variables such as activ- ity level, friendship network, family education, media habits, previous experience, and risk management tech- niques affect women’s fear of crime (Farrall et al. 2000).

87eFFeCT OF SexUAL HARASSMeNT ON wOMeN’S TRANSIT USe Though this approach is strong in finding the patterns of women’s fear of crime, it is unable to provide a complete explanation of the two paradoxes in women’s fear of crime. Some scholars have proposed that, to women, fear of crime is simply fear of sexual crime, because women are physically more vulnerable and more likely to be sexually victimized than men (Scott 2003). Thus sexual crime will shadow other types of crime among women (Ferraro 1996), and that is why women are so afraid of crime. without taking social context into consideration, however, this explanation can only be partial, since it ignores that as a social phenomenon, women’s fear of crime might be socially constructed. Usually crime surveys also ask women to tell the kind of public spaces they are most afraid of. Not surpris- ingly the answers include empty parks, dark parking lots, deserted stations, dirty streets with graffiti and van- dalism, and so forth, though a higher level of familiarity with these public spaces could reduce the fear (Lynch and Atkins 1988). The results also show that women tend to decrease their use of these public spaces or avoid them altogether because of fear (Stanko 1995). In other words, women’s fear of crime becomes an environmental mobility restrictor on their daily activities. Planners and architects are particularly interested in this issue, and they want to find the kind of public space design that can help reduce women’s fear and increase their sense of security. The second approach, which focuses on the environment and behavior, is introduced to address women’s fear of crime in public spaces. The basic idea of this approach comes from Oscar Newman’s defen- sible space theory (1972), which states that poor design of space can give environmental opportunities for crime and that crime can be prevented through environmental design (Schulz and Gilbert 2000). The research methods of this approach are situational and policy-oriented. By applying before and after attitudinal surveys (Koskela and Pain 2000), researchers found that improved design such as brighter lighting can really reduce women’s fear of crime and in turn encourage them to use public spaces more frequently. Critiques of this approach proposed that though the idea of “designing out fear” can reduce women’s fear of crime and improve their quality of life, it fails to capture the complex relationship between women’s fear of crime and the social structure (Koskela and Pain 2000). wom- en’s fear of crime can never be eliminated by environmen- tal design if gendered social and power relations do not change. For example, the principles of defensible space have been adopted in the design of many public spaces, but women’s feelings of insecurity in these places remain (Schulz and Gilbert 2000). The third approach, feminist geography, provides a more complete explanation. Feminist geography tries to provide a structural analysis to women’s fear of crime. Research has shown that women’s fear of crime largely restricts their use of public space and makes them inactive participants in public life, and feminist geographers think these pat- terns of inequality in the use of space reflect patterns of inequality in society (Pain 1997). valentine (1989, 1992) called it a “spatial expression of patriarchy.” In other words, women’s fear of crime is the outcome of gendered social and power relations (Koskela and Pain 2000). women were taught about the danger of some public places in their youth, so in part they were edu- cated and shaped to be afraid of some public spaces and to reduce their use of these public places in order to pro- tect themselves and avoid being in trouble (Pain 1997). In consequence, women are more and more reluctant to use some public spaces and participate in the activities that take place in those public spaces, which leads to the exclusion of women not only in public spaces but also in public life. women’s fear of crime, then, can be seen as a means of social control to strengthen the exist- ing gendered power structure in society, which tries to achieve the goal of social exclusion by spatial exclusion (Pain 1991, 2000). In addition to their analysis of women’s fear in pub- lic space, feminist geographers pay much attention to women’s fear in private space, since the power relations in such space are even more complex. This explains the second paradox of women’s fear of crime (Pain 1991). To feminist geographers, it is not who women are but where they live that is more important to an understand- ing of women’s fear of crime. Therefore, by applying a combination of qualitative research methods such as ethnographic study, documentary analysis, observation, participation, interviews, and focus groups to a commu- nity, researchers can expect to gain a deeper understand- ing of women’s fear of crime in that local area, attract public awareness of this issue, and attain a better solu- tion of the problem starting from the community level (Pain 2000). The three approaches mentioned above overlap, but they emphasize different issues. Synthesizing the approaches allows the salient aspects of each to be included in the research design. First, it is important to know how women’s fear of sexual harassment on transit is affected by different internal and external factors, so demographic characteristics need to be collected. Sec- ond, the space characteristics of public transit and their relations to women’s fear of sexual harassment should be examined. Last, women’s feelings and perceptions of sexual harassment on transit and their perspectives on effective ways to address this problem should be explored. Including the primary issues of each approach allows the study to assess the extent to which women’s fear of sexual harassment and their responding behav- iors are influenced or shaped by their own characteris- tics, built environment, societies, and cultures.

88 wOMeN’S ISSUeS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOLUMe 2 ReseaRch methods Large-scale, useful statistics on this topic are unavailable. Though some transit agencies have ridership data by gen- der, and some local governments have already conducted surveys on sexual harassment on transit—for example, in 1988 women Plan Toronto and Metro Taskforce on Public violence Against women and Children distrib- uted a questionnaire asking women to share their expe- riences on public transit with a focus on sexual assault and harassment (wekerle 2005)—none of these statistics explain the relationship between fear of sexual harass- ment and modifications of transit use. So there is still a large gap in the literature concerning fear for personal security and change of travel behaviors. Although quantitative and large-scale surveys provide important data, their size means that some information is not obtained. Most large-scale surveys are a prepared list of dozens of questions that can be answered with a single word or checked box (Yanow and Schwartz-Shea 2006). For example, the 2007 New York City subway survey shows that 51% of respondents sometimes or frequently feel the threat of sexual assault or harassment or both, and 63% of respondents had been sexually harassed in the NYC subway system, but the subsequent changes in travel behaviors due to the threat and experience of sex- ual harassment on transit are unknown. Furthermore, as the hypothesis of the present research suggests, female nonchoice riders will still ride transit even if they are aware of their vulnerability to sexual harassment simply because they have no choice. In this case, a survey might reveal that although sexual harassment occurs on transit, ridership is not affected by this kind of incident. If rider- ship remains stable, the problem of sexual harassment on transit might be ignored by transit agencies. An adequate treatment of the stated research topic requires a qualitative approach. That is to say, close attention must be paid to the questions to be asked and what data or evidence should be collected to uncover the link between women’s fears of sexual harassment and their modifications of transit use. To that end, this research project focused on original data collection and analysis by conducting focus group interviews. Morgan (1988) states that “as a form of qualitative research, focus groups are basically group interviews, although not in the sense of an alternation between the research- er’s questions and the research participants’ responses. Instead, the reliance is on interaction within the group, based on topics that are supplied by the researcher, who typically takes the role of a moderator. The fundamen- tal data that focus groups produce are transcripts of the group discussions.” Focus group interviews are suitable for the research purpose because they can provide a wide variety of qualitative data in a short period of time that can be used as preliminary or exploratory research and later combined with other qualitative or quantita- tive methods to prepare a follow-up, large-scale, and in- depth research effort. employing a focus group method in this research project allowed women with different demographic characteristics to be approached in a short period of time; their experiences, stories, perspectives, and opinions regarding the issue of sexual harassment on transit to be gathered; and their narratives and state- ments to then be analyzed to construct a more complete and coherent explanation of how fear of sexual harass- ment on transit affects women’s use of transit. As a form of qualitative research, the focus group method provides in-depth description and deep under- standing of an issue rather than establishing a generaliza- tion or representativeness of the research results. Thus, one of the common criticisms of quantitative research, such as the sample selection bias, might not be applicable to the present research project. A more appropriate way to assess the research results might be to analyze the tran- scriptions of the focus group interviews to see whether the initial hypothesis can be verified or supported by the focus groups’ evidence. If the initial hypothesis is not supported, the next task would be determining how to adjust the initial hypothesis to make it more consistent with the focus groups’ evidence and how to provide a reasonable explanation for this modification. ReseaRch design This research was based on one in-person focus group, two online focus groups, and seven individual interviews. Details are explained in the following subsections. In-Person Focus Group The in-person focus group was held in Irvine, California. Three participants were recruited via flyer and e-mail invitation. The duration of the in-person focus group was about one and a half hours, and participants were asked to provide some sociodemographic information as well as to share their experiences of sexual harassment on transit and their modified use of transit. Online Focus Groups One online focus group was in english, and the other was in traditional Chinese language. Traditional Chinese is the official language in Taiwan, and the participants in the traditional Chinese online focus group were all Taiwanese. The four participants for each online focus group were recruited via online flyer and e-mail invita- tion. Facebook was the medium chosen because it is a

89eFFeCT OF SexUAL HARASSMeNT ON wOMeN’S TRANSIT USe free-access social networking website and has numerous active users worldwide, so it was easy for the online focus group participants to log in and write their comments on the discussion board. An examination of the results of different focus groups allows a cross-cultural comparison of women’s perspectives of sexual harassment on tran- sit. Furthermore, the literature shows that online focus groups allow for a greater depth in response, since the form of participation is in written text (Gaiser 1997). This claim can be verified in this research topic by comparing the results of in-person and online focus groups. Individual Interviews In the process of recruiting in-person and online focus groups, some potential participants told the author that while they were interested in the research topic and had something to say, they could not make it or were not willing to share their stories in public. As a result, seven individual interviews were conducted to get information from these participants. The interviewees include two Americans and five Taiwanese, and the interviews were conducted in person, by phone, and by messenger. Interview and Discussion Questions The interview and discussion questions were basically the same for the in-person focus group, the two online focus groups, and the individual interviews. They are divided into four parts. Part One requests the sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants. Parts Two through Four are discussion questions that aim to understand par- ticipants’ feelings and perceptions of sexual harassment on transit, their stories and experiences regarding sexual harassment on transit, and their opinions and comments about some existing policies addressing sexual harassment on transit. The questions were as follows: 1. Please provide the following information about yourself: name, age, race/ethnicity, highest grade/degree completed, occupation, marriage status, and number of children. 2. Please describe your feelings about sexual harass- ment on transit. Do you think it is a disturbing problem in your daily life? How do you compare sexual harass- ment on transit with sexual harassment in other pub- lic spaces such as work and recreation places? Are your perceptions of sexual harassment on transit influenced by acquaintances, news reports, or other information sources? 3. Please describe your experiences of sexual harass- ment on transit. Include details of the time, place, type of transit, the purpose for your trip, how often you use that type of transit, and any other relevant informa- tion. Did your experiences of being harassed on tran- sit change your future use of transit? why or why not? If you changed the way you use transit to avoid sexual harassment, describe how your use of transit changed. 4. Sexual harassment has become a noticeable issue both in the United States and around the world. For exam- ple, the New York City subway surveyed riders to learn more about sexual harassment on their system. Respon- dents to that survey suggested increasing police presence, installing brighter lights and emergency phones, and using closed circuit televisions to curb sexual harassment. Some nations such as Japan, Mexico, India, and Brazil intro- duced women-only subways and buses to reduce sexual harassment. what do you think are efficient and feasible ways to addressing this problem, and why? Results analysis The following findings reflect the experiences and per- spectives of 18 female participants in their twenties and thirties. Six of them are white Americans, six are Tai- wanese, and the remaining six are Taiwanese who now live in the United States. Cultural Differences in Issues of Sexual Harassment on Transit The participants in this research are Americans and Tai- wanese, and the differences are obvious not only in their answers to discussion questions but also in the ways they respond to discussion questions. These differences show how women’s perspectives and behaviors are influenced by the environment and shaped by society, which also partly exemplify the hypotheses of both the environ- ment and behavior approach and the feminist geography approach. Here are some examples: 1. women’s perceptions of sexual harassment on transit: when asked what types of sexual harassment are most likely to occur on transit, Americans said accosting or crazy people and Taiwanese said groping and unwanted touch. when asked what kinds of transit spaces they most fear, Americans said empty bus stops or transit stations and Taiwanese said crowded buses or subways. These two questions are connected since the land-use development in Taiwan is dense and compact, which leads to a heavy use of public transit, consequently crowding and groping become the major problem. On the contrary, a more dispersed land-use development in some American cities, such as Irvine, leads to automobile dependence, and therefore, empty space becomes a secu- rity concern to public transit users.

90 wOMeN’S ISSUeS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOLUMe 2 2. women’s comparisons of sexual harassment on transit with other public spaces: when comparing sexual harassment on transit with sexual harassment in other public spaces such as workplaces, participants’ opinions become diverse, though they all pointed out that sexual harassment on transit usually happens in a closed space where strangers take environmental opportunities to harass: Transit is different, because there is no author- ity to report it to, unless the harassment becomes flagrant or violent. At work, you can report it to a boss or HR. In a public place, you can move away from the situation. On transit, you are sort of encapsulated in the situation. especially if you have to take that bus or train to get to work every day. (American) From my experience, sexual harassment on transit makes me feel much more uncomfortable compare to it happened in other place. One reason might be because I cannot clearly recall sexual harassment happen in other place or sometimes it’s not clear to define it’s a harassment or not. (Taiwanese) I think sexual harassment in the workplace is much more fearful and bothering, since harassers on transit are usually strangers, however, in the work- place harassers might be your work associates or supervisors, so things become more complex and difficult. For example, you can get off the bus or train when you are harassed, but it is not so easy to change your job. (Taiwanese) 3. How women’s perceptions of sexual harassment on transit are affected by others: when participants were asked whether their perceptions of sexual harassment on transit were influenced by acquaintances or news reports, their answers were somewhat diverse. Taiwanese were more likely to be influenced by acquaintances and news reports; participants were impressed by the experiences of acquaintances and could remember them after many years. In contrast, the Americans’ perceptions were usu- ally based on their own experiences: My perception on sexual harassment is influenced by news and friends’ experiences. But my percep- tion of sexual harassment on transit is largely based on my own experience. (American) I think reporting of incidents on buses through the media has deterred many people from taking the bus. Despite isolated incidents in certain high-crime areas, people of all income levels view public tran- sit negatively because of the reporting. (American) My perceptions of sexual harassment on transit somehow influenced by friends and news reports. I became more watchful on transit after heard some cases. Also become braver and not afraid about letting people around on the transit know what happen if there is a sexual harassment after heard about my friend’s experience and her reaction. (Taiwanese) My perception about sexual harassment on transit is particularly influenced by a high school teacher, since she described very detailed her experience to the class. And it was so impressive to me because she was a tough woman and able to protect herself. I cannot believe such woman can also become a victim. It made me feel very fearful since I need to ride bus to school everyday. (Taiwanese) I think all my perceptions of sexual harassment come from friends and media. For example, after reading reports about groping addicts on Japan subways, I’m very watchful and try to avoid approaches from untidy middle-age men. (Taiwanese) 4. women’s comments on policies addressing sex- ual harassment on transit: Participants were asked to evaluate some existing policies aimed at reducing sex- ual harassment on transit. In general their opinions are similar except that their opinions regarding women-only subway cars and buses are contrary. Having women-only subways and buses seems somewhat discriminatory for both genders. Are the women-only public transits the same quality as the male-only? Are the drivers female or men? I think that by using greater levels of security measures, there is a significant capacity to deter harassers from bothering women on transit. (American) women-only subways and buses are the most effec- tive. It can block groping and unwanted touch. In addition to sexual harassment, women can feel more relaxed and comfortable in such spaces since you don’t need to sit or stand by smelly, dirty, or even drunk men. (Taiwanese) In the process of recruiting for both in-person and online focus groups, Americans who were interested in this topic joined the discussion groups directly. Some Taiwanese, however, mentioned that they were inter- ested and willing to comment, but they did not feel free to share their experiences and feelings in public or post their opinions and comments online without anonymity. That is the main reason for the individual interviews and why the majority of interviewees are Taiwanese.

91eFFeCT OF SexUAL HARASSMeNT ON wOMeN’S TRANSIT USe Some participants who lived in Taiwan before and now work or study in the United States mentioned that in general the ways people deal with sexual harass- ment issues in the two countries are very different. In the United States sexual harassment is a very sensitive issue; people take it more seriously, and they are more supportive and willing to help those who encounter this problem. Although they feel less worried about sexual harassment on transit in the United States, they are really worried about personal security issues in public places, and therefore, they are even more watchful in the United States than in Taiwan when they ride transit. More General Findings in Issues of Sexual Harassment on Transit In general, participants describe sexual harassment on transit as “unpleasant, uncomfortable, annoying, and disturbing.” Some participants think it is a common problem that can happen to everyone; others do not feel it is so common since they have never experienced sexual harassment on transit. Unlike the importance of cultural differences in wom- en’s perceptions of sexual harassment and their attitudes about adequate policy responses, the availability of a car plays a more important role in women’s modified use of transit. First, here are a few examples of how partici- pants described their experiences and what they did after these events occurred: On the bus on the way to work almost on a daily basis. It’s the earliest bus of the day (6:30 a.m.), about 5 minutes’ ride. The bus was often full of students and elders on the way to their exercise. The seats were always full and at least 10 people had to stand; however, everyone could still manage to have a personal space. After a while, I started to notice a man in his 50s often approaches me when he got onto the bus. I recognized him because I even yielded a seat to him once, but he refused. He often had body contact with me while walk- ing to find a seat. At first I think it was because he couldn’t walk steadily on the trembling bus; how- ever, after a few times, I started to feel uncomfort- able. Oftentimes, he squeezed into me even though there were plenty of space as if on purpose, and he often ended up standing besides me. I still took that bus everyday, yet I started to stand in places where I could guard myself better (facing front, ample space around.) I even walked away imme- diately when he approaches and stare at him. I do not change a bus because I didn’t want my schedule to be affected, and that’s the only bus I could take. In the end, that man showed up less and dared not to stand by me. If he kept harassing me I’ll tell the driver or the other passengers and I think that’ll stop him from taking this bus again. (Taiwanese) It happened several times on my way to (or back from) school. Mostly early in the morning (6:30 a.m.), and very crowded on the bus. That’s the bus route I took for more than 10 years. I didn’t change the use of the transit since that’s almost the only bus I could take. However, I always gladly take a ride from others when I got the chance to avoid this. (Taiwanese) worst cases were in San Francisco. It’s about sub- way stalker. I had no choice since it was my only way to get to work. I pretended I was asleep. If I read a book or was awake, he’d try to talk to me. I think much has to do with the woman’s reaction. I probably was not assertive enough in telling him to stop. There were also panhandlers in NYC. They were constant and often times very aggressive. And once in France a man harassed my friend, touch- ing her, even during a busy transit time when there were many spectators. (American) I am a choice public transit rider. I own a car that has insurance and is drivable. However, because there is such a significant amount of traffic, I often tend to take the bus or train to avoid traffic and frustrations over traffic. The convenience and cost often wins. I personally have never experienced sex- ual harassment on public transit. I have felt unsafe due to either a person who seemed like they were drunk, on drugs, homeless, or sick. I have also felt insecure due to large groups of guys. They never really interacted with me but their presence was a little worrisome. Because I am a choice rider, when I have felt insecure about public transit, I begin to drive my car again. After some time away from public transit, I typically return to taking it when I feel comfortable again. Most women don’t have that choice. I also carry mace now. (American) The types of sexual harassment on transit include grop- ing, accosting, stalking, and panhandling. And the images of harassers are usually drunk, dirty, and smelly middle- aged men. when asked whether they changed the way they use transit after being harassed, nonchoice riders usually answered that nothing can be changed since the transit is their only way to get to work or school; but when par- ticipants were asked about minor changes, the responses were surprising. Some participants get off the transit and wait for the next one, some leave the situation and go to safer spaces in the carriage or station, some sit and stand only by women, some use a bag or backpack to avoid unwanted touch, some ride transit with friends, some do

92 wOMeN’S ISSUeS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOLUMe 2 not ride transit after dark, and some avoid bus and transit that pass through areas with high crime rates. Therefore female nonchoice riders do modify their use of transit in minor ways. even those interviewees who reported never being harassed said they are watchful and make the same minor changes to avoid sexual harassment on transit. when evaluating some policies aimed at reducing sexual harassment on transit, in general the opinions of participants are much the same about brighter lights, emergency phones, and closed circuit television. Many participants thought that staff training and educating female riders might be helpful, although these possibili- ties were not mentioned in the discussion questions. Here are some examples: Police presence. even just one, visible officer in a sta- tion is a deterrent. Maybe also random, undercover cops (like secret shoppers) who travel on lines where there have been the most complaints. Ad campaigns that say sexual harassment will not be tolerated. There needs to be an understanding of what’s not allowed and what the consequences will be. Corpo- rations spend lots of time and money training work- ers on what constitutes sexual harassment. Clearly it is a difficult thing to define. If on a bus, proper driver training to defuse the situation or know when to call transit police. Suggest women traveling dur- ing busy times. Since offenders less likely to offend when there are witnesses. (American) I think that the introduction of more security, brighter lights, emergency phones and such are the answer. while harassment on public transit may be a problem, I think small changes that make harass- ers aware of security measures will limit the prob- lem. (American) encourage women to deal with the problem posi- tively and do not take it as our fault. (Such mental- ity often exists in plenty of cultures.) Teach women how to deal with such situation. To whom and where should this problem be reported? One of the most important is: Train the staff in the transpor- tation company how to assist women when such thing happens. Do not make women victim again by having an irresponsible or mocking attitude. The staff and drivers on the transit are often the most important authority to stop the harassment immediately. (Taiwanese) I support the closed circuit television. everything hap- pened on transit can be video-taped so that harassers dare to do nothing. even if harassment happened, there will be a record and help victim to identify the offender and take further action. (Taiwanese) Both American and Taiwanese interviewees men- tioned that sometimes they are not sure whether certain behaviors count as sexual harassment, and they suggested a clearer definition of sexual harassment and educating both women and men about what sorts of actions are not allowed. Interestingly, participants from both places pointed out that women should be careful about what they wear in order to avoid sexual harassment on tran- sit. Though it sounds like discrimination, participants thought that is the reality and saw clothing choices as an effective way to prevent sexual harassment. Hypothesis Modifications The hypothesis that “women’s perceptions and fear of sexual harassment on transit are culturally specific” can be verified. even though this study had only Taiwanese and white American participants, many cultural differences in issues of sexual harassment on transit were identified. The hypothesis about female nonchoice riders is that “female nonchoice riders [who are aware of their vul- nerability to sexual harassment on transit] will still take transit but modify their use of transit, which will lead to inconvenience and discomfort.” The responses of par- ticipants show that they do make some minor changes to avoid being harassed on transit; thus, this part of the hypothesis is consistent with the evidence. The hypothesis about female choice riders is that “female choice riders [who are aware of their vulnerability to sexual harassment on transit] will avoid taking transit.” Though one participant mentioned she drives her car when she felt insecure about public transit, other choice riders said sexual harassment on transit is not a major consideration when they decide whether to drive their cars or ride the tran- sit. Therefore this part of hypothesis does not capture the travel decision–making process of female choice riders. In general, both choice and nonchoice participants said that sexual harassment is not a major consider- ation for them in deciding to take transit or drive, and their primary considerations are time, cost, convenience, comfort, and accessibility. Though sexual harassment is an issue for some participants, their responses are being more watchful and alert when riding transit, rather than avoiding taking transit totally. However, participants do mention that safety and security might be a more impor- tant consideration when making travel decisions. Suggestions for Further Research The sample size is relatively small. Though important issues of the effects of sexual harassment on transit riders emerged through the discussion and conversation, most American participants responded in a similar way and

93eFFeCT OF SexUAL HARASSMeNT ON wOMeN’S TRANSIT USe most Taiwanese participants responded in another simi- lar way. Merely increasing the numbers of American and Taiwanese participants might not be helpful. However, since issues of sexual harassment on transit are cultur- ally specific, different findings could be expected about women’s perceptions, attitudes, and reactions to sexual harassment on transit with a greater ethnic diversity in the participants. For example, if Latina Americans had participated in the study, the findings might be differ- ent. Diversifying the participants as well as increasing the sample size will be helpful to expand the findings. In-person focus groups work better than online focus groups. There are more interactions among interviewees in the in-person focus group discussion, and it is easier for the moderator to ask follow-up questions to get more detailed information from interviewees. In contrast, the interactions among online focus group participants are limited, and some participants thought their opinions might not make sense and therefore they tended to write less. Small talk and informal interviews are useful in researching this topic. Some interviewees were not willing to discuss sexual harassment–related issues in public, but they were able to talk in a casual and informal way in pri- vate. During the interview process, interviewees usually can recall more and more details and elaborate their feel- ings and perspectives, and in the end, interviewees provide more information than they originally think they can. Though these findings are preliminary and incon- clusive, they can be helpful for preparing a follow-up, large-scale, in-depth survey. with a clearer picture of this issue and more knowledge about what should be asked and what kind of questions make sense, a better survey design can be expected. conclusion As the findings suggest, women’s fear of sexual harass- ment on transit changes their transit use and travel behav- ior in a negative way. Though these changes are usually minor modifications rather than totally avoiding using transit, in order to retain the ridership, to build a positive image of public transit, and to attract potential female passengers, transit agencies and local government indeed should develop adequate policies to address this problem. 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