Metro Los Angeles Launches “Speak Up” Campaign Against Sexual Harassment

Metro Los Angeles, community-based organization Peace Over Violence and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced a new campaign Thursday designed to thwart sexual harassment on public transportation. 

The “Speak Up” campaign contains a call to action. If a rider experiences or sees sexual harassment they are asked to report it. This new campaign is a follow-up to the “It’s Off Limits” campaign that Metro and the LASD conducted in the spring. That campaign has already resulted in a three percent reduction in the number of reported incidents of sexual harassment on buses and trains, Metro officials said. 

Peace Over Violence’s Executive Director Patti Giggans described the campaign as “shining a spotlight on the experiences that many riders report on the subway, on the trains, on the buses.”

One passenger, Maria Bryant, said that she had experienced sexual harassment just last night. She did not report the incident because she was not aware of the various reporting options, she said. 

Whether a victim or a witness of sexual harassment, passengers are encouraged to call the sheriff’s hotline at 1-888-950-SAFE or 911, use the Transit Watch LA app or pick up a red phone in any Metro station to report an incident. The phone app contains a feature that turns off the camera’s flash, allowing users to take photos of the situation undetected. 

“Each person who rides the system can be a partner with us in helping to keep their fellow passengers safe,” Metro CEO Phillip Washington said in a press release. “Harassers are on notice that passengers will speak up and we will find you, arrest you and prosecute you.” 

Sexual harassment can take many forms including unwanted touching, comments and/or gestures. In Metro’s fall 2014 customer satisfaction survey, 22 percent of respondents said that they had experienced some form of sexual harassment. This number declined to 19 percent after the “It’s Off Limits” campaign launched in April. 

LASD Chief Ronene Anda commands the unit that is responsible for keeping the Metro system safe, the transit policing division. Anda said that the number of registered reports of sexual harassment on the Metro is so low because people “are afraid to report it and that’s been our problem.” 

Multilingual “Speak Up” posters have been installed on 2,200 buses, 275 rail cars and a video explaining the campaign plays in the East Portal of Union Station.