Giving Compass' Take:

• Ammar A. Malik, Yasemin Irvin-Erickson, and Faisal Kamiran explain how tech solutions can address the systemic problem of sexual harassment on public transportation in Pakistan. 

• How can cities around the world design and improve their transit systems with safety in mind? 

• Learn about making public transportation safe for women in Bangladesh. 

Women around the world face sexual harassment and violence in many forms. In addition to more widely discussed issues of intimate partner violence and workplace harassment highlighted by the #MeToo movement, women also feel unsafe and are sexually harassed in public spaces.

Thousands of women in cities around the world may stay home for fear of victimization, perpetuating prevalent social norms and further restricting their mobility. Despite efforts to develop gender-sensitive transport planning and operations, many cities are failing to address women's unique transport requirements.

Despite the pervasiveness of this problem, the literature offers few insights into the stages of women’s and men’s transit journeys where physical or social circumstances make them most fearful of experiencing harassment or violence.

To bridge this gap, the Urban Institute and the Information Technology University Punjab formed a partnership to map hot spots where transport users have experienced violence or harassment or felt unsafe in Lahore, Pakistan. Following the whole-journey approach, we are using a custom-built smartphone application to explore how variations in transport operations, vehicle facilities, transit station design, and urban land-use affect citizens’ perceptions of safety from their doorsteps to their destinations and back.

Read the full article about the technology being used to keep women safe in Pakistan's public transport system by Ammar A. Malik, Yasemin Irvin-Erickson, and Faisal Kamiran at Urban Institute.