Posted on 10/15/2011 4:13:52 PM PDT by Cardhu
Guatamala City has introduced women-only buses aimed at reducing instances of harassment and violence against women on public transport across the Guatemalan capital.
The project came about after a congresswoman, Zury Rios Montt, started a petition to draw attention to the fact that hundreds of women were sexually harassed on buses every year.
According to the Association of Transport Users in Guatemala, of the 1,500 complaints received annually about passenger abuse, more than a third of them involve the sexual harassment of women and girls.
"Women have the right to travel in safety, as demanded by law," said Luis Gómez, vice-president of the city's bus service, Transurbano. "It's a shame we had to introduce this system, but people weren't respecting women on mixed buses."
Roughly half of Guatemala City's 3.5 million inhabitants use public buses every day, leaving themselves vulnerable to attacks by armed assailants who regularly rob passengers and kill drivers.
The fleet of buses marked "for women only" has received a great deal of support. Passengers say they feel safer, and hope the project will soon extend its operation beyond rush hours. The service is for women and all children under seven.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
No, they just have to move up to New York with their fathers if they want to feel up women on mass transit.
Guatemala buses are a nightmare. Riding on one makes you want to strangle that SOB who stands in the door waving more people in to the already hopelessly crowded bus. Hanging off the ladder in back is a lot better than being inside.
When I was in Mexico City in the late 80s, they had subway cars that were women only. After getting in the wrong car, we were directed to the right one and and settled in. Suddenly, we were at our stop and realized that we were way to packed in to get to the exit. This dawned on the women and somehow they moved and nudged and propelled us out before the door shut. Not sure how they did it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.