A young woman enjoys the view from the window seat she’s managed to get in a public bus to the next town. But as the gentle breeze blows across her face, she feels the slight nudge of an elbow to the side of her torso. It turns out that a male passenger has chosen to sit next to her and as the journey progresses, the nudge turns into a firm shove, as now the man has nestled his elbow into her waist. She squirms with discomfort and looks at him with rage, but he avoids her stare and looks ahead, poker-faced. Left with no option, she shifts herself closer to the window. The man draws nearer to her and before she knows it, she is totally locked in, scared and embarrassed to raise an alarm.
No, this is not an extract from a work of fiction. This is what many female passengers are forced to endure while using public buses in the State. While most such instances go unreported, ripples were caused across Goa recently after a college student was molested while travelling on an electric bus operated by the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) from Margao to Nuvem on the morning of August 30. She described the harrowing incident in graphic detail: First, the man tried to elbow her in the chest after she boarded the packed bus, she said. Next, she said that the ‘aroused’ man rubbed his crotch against her thighs despite her trying to keep him at a distance with her elbow. What disheartened her was the fact that no other person on the bus, including the conductor, intervened when she began objecting to what the man was doing to her while also repeatedly warning him to keep his distance from her.
It was only after the incident went viral on social media platforms that a red-faced KTC decided to speak up. The corporation’s general manager Narayan Naik said the e-buses are fitted with panic buttons for enhanced safety. But are such buttons of any use? The hapless college student called out to the conductor for help when the man was molesting her, but the conductor chose to pay no heed. If a cry for help from a human being fell on deaf ears, will an inanimate panic button make any difference to alleviate the plight of women passengers in distress?
KTC’s chairman Ulhas Tuenkar suggested yet another remedy: The corporation would increase the frequency of buses plying on such routes to avoid overcrowding and consequent incidents of molestation. While this may be a good move, the authorities are falling woefully short of addressing the actual issue at hand – swiftly acting against and punishing such depraved passengers, thereby making them an example for others who may be toying with the idea of harassing women travellers.
What happened to the unfortunate college student is not an isolated incident. Plenty of women are victims of similar abuse while they travel on public buses – both KTC and privately owned – particularly those that are packed like cans of sardines. Most often than not, many women choose to bear the abuse silently as they fear being embarrassed. This only emboldens perpetrators who then go on to repeat their shameful acts on others.
Women are also hesitant to call for help because of the bystander effect, a theory that states that people are less likely to heed cries for assistance from a victim in the presence of other individuals. This happens once too often in public buses, many women say, which is what deters them from asking for a co-passengers’ intervention. Unfortunately, such indifference on the part of other passengers shames the victim and empowers the perpetrator when the situation should ideally be the other way around.
It’s time the law and the authorities come down heavily on such perverse behaviour in public transport if women are to travel safely and hassle-free.