Women’s transit safety: making connections and defining future directions in research and practice

Abstract

Drawing from a diverse range of examples, the guest editor aims to summarise and reflect upon the key material presented in this special issue. This 'afterword' to the special issue also highlights the key messages that emerge from the diverse research techniques and methodologies employed in the varied range of case studies, most of them small-scale studies. This final article identifies the unanswered questions and looks forward discussing future research agendas and policy recommendations that arise from this international and multidisciplinary take on women's victimisation and perceived safety in transit environments.

Sexual Harassment and Assault in Transit Environments: A Review of the English-language Literature

“…Prior to that time, studies on public transport were “gender blind,” while studies on sexual harassment focused on workplace and universities as locations rather than on public spaces such as streets or transit environments (Lenton et al 1999; Vera-Grey 2016; Gekoski et al 2017). More recently, however, an increasing number of studies and reports have started focusing on crimes of sexual nature against women in transit (Smith and Clarke 2000; Morgan and Smith 2006; Loukaitou-Sideris 2009; Newton 2014; Loukaitou-Sideris 2015; Ceccato 2017; Ceccato and Paz 2017; Lea, D’Silva, and Asok 2017; Goldsmith 2018).…”

Crime and Fear in Public Places

“…Overall, almost all definitions of and views about public space include the primary indicators of accessibility and activity, stating that urban public space is an area that is accessible to all people and is the setting for their activities (Costamagna et al, 2019, p. 135). In reality, the two terms public place and public space have been used interchangeably in the literature (Ceccato, 2016(Ceccato, , 2017Hadavi, Kaplan, & Hunter, 2018;Németh, 2012) and their definitional boundaries are often blurred, as also in this edited volume. For more details, see Ceccato (2015).…”

Sexual Harassment in Transit Environments among College Students in the #MeToo Era: Reporting Evidence from Six Continents

“…An emerging literature in cities of both the Global North and the Global South examines how sexual violence affects transit riders (e g Ceccato, 2017, Chowdhury & van Wee, 2020, Lea, D'Silva, & Asok, 2017, Tripathi, Borrion, & Belur, 2017, Beller, Garelik, & Cooper, 1980. This literature is not comparative; empirical studies survey or interview riders in one city and in one transit system (bus or train).…”