New App Seeks To Combat Sexual Harassment On Metro

The L.A. Metro and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors launched a new campaign to combat sexual assualt on public transporation. The "It's Off Limits" campaign includes the "Transit Watch" application that allows passengers to immediately report instances of harassment.

A new survey released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reports that 22% of the passengers that ride the Metro say they’ve been sexually harassed while riding the Metro. The Transit Watch app allows passengers to immediately report any instance of harassment directly to the Sheriff’s Department.

L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Keuhl has been a driving force on this campaign since its beginning. "All of us have experienced [sexual harassment]," Keuhl said. "It can seem like a small thing. Someone can brush up against you allegedly accidentally. It’s not accidental. It is every person’s, especially every woman’s, right to ride our public transportation free of sexual harassment," Keuhl said.

Passengers said they were hopeful this app will help what they say is a common experience. Elizabeth Liedig estimated that she gets harassed "eight out of ten times" that she rides the Metro. She recounted one experience that was especially discomforting. "There was like this group of guys that went on there, and they were drunk and were stripping on the pole. And they looked at me and were like you’re a girl, you should strip too," Liedig said. "They tried to talk to me and touch me and I was like 'uh-uh no.'"

Liedig did have one concern: the lack of service on the Metro. However, if the app was able to funciton underground, "it would be good," Liedig said. "That makes me feel comfortable that there’s an option out there at least."

This app could truly be an option that potentially reduces harassment altogether and stops repeat offenders from harassing passengers all across the county.