After surveys of Vietnamese women found that most are victims of sexual harassment in public spaces, Hanoi officials have ordered that the city launch an all-female bus service.
The order from Hanoi’s municipal administration, which has “raised experts' eyebrows over its feasibility,” according to Thanh Nien, directs transportation companies to explore a gender-specific service on “problematic routes.”
A recent survey by three organizations (ActionAid, Research Centre for Gender, and Family and Environment in Development and Plan) found that 87% of Vietnamese women say they have been victims of sexual harassment in public places.
Nguyen Hoang Trung, deputy director of the state-owned Hanoi Transport Corporation seemed less than optimistic about the viability of such a program. “[It is] very new and will lead to many complicated issues in management,” he told the paper, adding that of the 43,012 calls made to the company’s hotline between April and November, only 5 were related to sexual harassment on busses.
Dinh Thi Thanh Binh, director of the Institute of Transport Planning and Management at the University of Transportation, echoed Trung’s views:
“Hanoi should explore other solutions, such as cooperating with the police, raising passenger awareness and encouraging victims to file reports,” she said.
It seems like a gender-specific bus service would just be putting a bandage over a serious social issue that can only be addressed through better education and accountability.
