Julie Bindel Julie Bindel

Women-only carriages are a bonkers idea

The SNP is wrong to consider segregating train passengers by sex

(Photo: Getty)

Here we go again. Another suggestion, this time by the SNP transport minister, Jenny Gilruth, to introduce women-only carriages on public transport in order to address the ‘systemic problem’ of women feeling too scared to travel ‘because of men’s behaviour’. Does that mean it’s okay for men to sexually assault women in mixed carriages?

Rather than addressing the fact that rape is obscenely under prosecuted in this country (with around 1 per cent of reported rapes ending in a conviction in England and Wales) the minister is following in the footsteps of the likes of Jeremy Corbyn in coming up with a bonkers idea to keep women safe. How about deterring men from sexually harassing and assaulting women instead? Isn’t that a novel idea? If men thought that there might be consequences for their actions, guess what? They might think twice before putting their hands on a female commuter.

Segregated areas on public transport are in use in several countries around the world, such as Iran, Japan, India, the UAE, Egypt, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico. All of these countries have major problems with the abuse and oppression of women. All are countries where women face institutional discrimination, severe sexual harassment, or both.

Sex segregation is about as effective in preventing crimes against women and girls as the full-face veil

And guess what happens in countries where there is endemic misogyny and high rates of sexual assault coupled with barely any convictions for such crimes? Men ignore the rules. A sexual predator is hardly going to worry about being told off by a train guard if he steps into a women-only carriage.

In the 1990s, a group of vigilantes called Guardian Angels – which began by organising civilian patrols of the New York City streets and subways in 1979 in response to the rampant crime of the era – turned up on the London underground.

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