Anti-sexual harassment initiative to train Uber drivers in new partnership
Courtesy: Uber Cairo Facebook page
 

The private car service Uber is teaming up with local anti-sexual harassment initiative Harassmap to train its drivers how to “recognize, prevent and take positive action” against harassment, the company announced Thursday.

The Harassmap training will be mandatory for all Uber drivers. “The idea is that proactively tackling this issue is in the best of interest of all of us, riders and drivers, to take simple but clear steps to prevent sexual harassment,” said the Uber statement.

The partnership is part of Harassmap’s Safe Corporates project, an attempt to transform Egyptian workplaces into safe areas with a zero-tolerance policy for harassment. The project targets medium to large businesses, and trains employees to take positive action.

Allying with Uber is arguably important, as many women have reported feeling uncomfortable or fearful when riding regular taxis in Egypt.

Uber Cairo General Manager Anthony Khoury told Mada Masr that the training teaches drivers how to respond to different situations where sexual harassment happens.

The training should also cover the definition, types and prevalence of sexual harassment, its causes and effects, as well as tips on how to react when drivers are either harassed or witness harassment. The training, according to Khoury, is particularly important for Uber’s female drivers.

“This partnership has been done as a response to the general education and training needed against sexual harassment here in Cairo,” he said. “Education is key, which is why this partnership — and the training that comes with it — is a crucial step in stopping sexual harassment.”

A 2014 Harassmap study found that at least 95 percent of women in Egypt had been sexually harassed at least once, most often while walking down the street in broad daylight or while taking public transportation.

An amendment to the Penal Code in 2014 criminalized sexual harassment, imposing penalties ranging from six months to five years in prison. However, many rights organizations said the reforms are not enough. In a joint statement in last year, rights groups slammed “an atmosphere of state impunity” that further fuels harassment and sexual violence.

Following the outbreak of the 2011 uprising, there were multiple incidents of mob sexual assaults during mass protests in Tahrir Square. During celebrations in Tahrir for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s inauguration in 2014, one woman was stripped of her clothes, attacked with knives and raped by a group of men. Following the incident, Sisi visited the assault victim in the hospital and vowed to fight against sexual violence.

Aside from Tahrir, the Eid holidays have long been notorious for a high prevalence of sexual harassment in Cairo streets. Various grassroots campaigns have emerged to fight the problem and counteract what they call the state’s inability to confront the issue.

Harassmap was a pioneer in the field of prevention, first launching in December 2010. More recent projects include the Imprint Movement’s campaign to place comics in Cairo metro stations that portray the grim repercussions of sexual harassment.

Dalia Abdel Hamid, gender issues officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, explained to Mada Masr that creating safe spaces for women is a crucial step in combating sexual harassment. “Realizing that there are corporates and organizations that are against sexual harassment offers more protection and encouragement to women,” she said.

But it would be even better if a similar, yet wider initiative could be applied with non-Uber taxi drivers, Abdel Hamid argued, in order to widen the scope of protection.

Class remains a decisive factor in determining the severity of sexual harassment in Egypt, she noted.

“Women who use Uber are the ones who use private transportation and who have credit cards, which is not the majority of Egyptian women. Women in public transportation and the metro are more exposed to harassment than those who ride their cars and live in compounds,” argued Abdel Hamid. “Of course, all women in Egypt face harassment on a daily basis, but the more money women have, the more protection they receive from harassment.”

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