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In recent interviews as a contender for the Labour leadership, Jeremy Corbyn has obviously be asked to comment on women's issues. One such topic that's gain much traction recently has been the suggestion to implement women-only carriages to combat the rising number of sexual offences on public transport.Though obviously nothing has been put into place, Corbyn has said that he
"...would consult with women and open it up to hear their views on whether women-only carriages would be welcome - and also if piloting this at times and [on] modes of transport where harassment is reported most frequently would be of interest."
Though I applaud Corbyn for opening up the discussion on street harassment (no matter what his intentions or underlying motives are) there are a number of reasons why I believe women-only carriages will cause more problems than it solves.
I'm not the only person who feels as though a 'woman-only' carriage on modes of transport such as the Tube in London would be a step back and doesn't actually address the problem off street harassment. Sure, it acknowledges that it happens but other than physically moving women a foot away from a potential attacker nothing happens. The threat of violence is still there.
Another issue I have here is the question as to whether these carriages all inclusive?
Unless Corbyn, the UK government and transport companies choose to include transgender women and non-binary people in their discussions, we can only assume these 'women-only' carriages are really 'cis-gendered women only carriages'. Which could lead to transgender and non-binary (yet biologically female) women being mis-directed into other carriages and excluded from a safe space because of their appearance. Which in turn ignores the fact that across the world there's an epidemic of violence against transgender women.
If we use the same logic we should also think about harassment experienced by those who identify with other sexualities as well. Should hate crimes be treated in the same way? If so those of a certain ethnicity could warrant their own 'safe spaces' too. And though a small number of cis-gendered men are, normally, the people most likely to attack and harass women what about the small minority of women who are ready and willing to resort to violence and sexually harass both women and men.
Yes, women have a right to safe spaces and women-only carriages may seem like a great way solve the problem in the short term, but there's a more widespread societal issue here with a need to teach men that harassment of any form is wrong. Removing women from one place and putting them in another does not solve the problem, what happens once a woman gets off the train? Should we have designated corridors? Paths? Roads? Entire transport networks to ourselves?
Women (on all points of the gender spectrum) should feel safe everywhere, whether in an all-women's carriage or 'mixed gendered one', and segregation is not the answer.
For me the better solution to this issue would be better policing of public transport (particularly at night) and a justice system that punishes perpetrators of sexual harassment. Resources that could potentially be used to heard women into a woman-only carriage and shepherd men into another could be better allocated to stop violence and harassment outright.
And in the longer term instead of women-only carriages, how about douchebag free zones, on public transport and in all public spaces? Am I right?
If we use the same logic we should also think about harassment experienced by those who identify with other sexualities as well. Should hate crimes be treated in the same way? If so those of a certain ethnicity could warrant their own 'safe spaces' too. And though a small number of cis-gendered men are, normally, the people most likely to attack and harass women what about the small minority of women who are ready and willing to resort to violence and sexually harass both women and men.
Circling back to my main problem with this suggestion - is should we not strive to prosecute those who are at fault in these cases?
Everyday Sexism campaigner Laura Bates stated her argument on this very simply on Twitter:
Everyday Sexism campaigner Laura Bates stated her argument on this very simply on Twitter:
"Women-only carriages suggest harassment/sexual violence is innate & inevitable so women's responsibility to avoid."This is the same argument used during many rape convictions. 'She was drunk/wearing 'provocative' clothing/out at night', soon 'well, she didn't go into the woman-only carriage, so she didn't take the steps to protect herself' will surface as another poor excuse for violence against women.
Yes, women have a right to safe spaces and women-only carriages may seem like a great way solve the problem in the short term, but there's a more widespread societal issue here with a need to teach men that harassment of any form is wrong. Removing women from one place and putting them in another does not solve the problem, what happens once a woman gets off the train? Should we have designated corridors? Paths? Roads? Entire transport networks to ourselves?
Women (on all points of the gender spectrum) should feel safe everywhere, whether in an all-women's carriage or 'mixed gendered one', and segregation is not the answer.
For me the better solution to this issue would be better policing of public transport (particularly at night) and a justice system that punishes perpetrators of sexual harassment. Resources that could potentially be used to heard women into a woman-only carriage and shepherd men into another could be better allocated to stop violence and harassment outright.
And in the longer term instead of women-only carriages, how about douchebag free zones, on public transport and in all public spaces? Am I right?
I agree with you! The points you made about women who are not cis-gender are really good, and not something I'd thought in relation to women-only carriages before.
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