Although a fare increase seems to have reduced the number of daily Beijing Subway travelers by as many as 800,000 per day, crowds during peak hours are still huge. The close quarters can often allow for a problem worse than a little pushing and shoving: physical harassment of women.
The problem with sexual harassment on the subway isn't well documented. A survey indicates that 31 percent of women reported some kind of sexual harassment, with the majority of that occurring on public transportation. Still, the move was proposed by two members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an assembly of legislative advisers, who said it would lead to women being treated more "respectfully."
Such cars exist both in Japan and Malaysia. The question is, would the Beijing Subway be able to spare the cars during the morning and evening commutes, and how would it be enforced? A ban on eating on the subway – which wasn't really a big problem – ended two months after being implemented.
While the move seems to have some public support, a reallocation of subway resources seems unlikely.
What do you think? Let us know in our Comments section below.
Photo: Quartz
Ah, I didn't notice that it also covered men.
To be honest I would also say that 'A survey indicates that 33 percent of women 16-25 years old reported some kind of sexual harassment' could be reworded, as that could easily give the impression that 33% of young women reported being sexually harassed.
Thanks for looking at it though.
ps the original WSJ statement was:
Last year, a survey from the China-based Canton Public Opinion Research Center showed 31% of 1,500 Chinese women surveyed reported a rise in sexual harassment, with many of them saying harassment occurred mainly on public transportation.
it should have been:
Last year, a survey from the China-based Canton Public Opinion Research Center showed 31% of 1,500 Chinese people surveyed reported a rise in sexual harassment, with many of them saying harassment occurred mainly on public transportation.
And if you want to get technical, the survey was not from last year, it was conducted in Nov 2012, which was more than 2 years prior to the WSJ article published in January of 2015.
Following the links, 31% of women felt that sexual harassment was increasing.
Of all the women surveyed, 3% had been sexually harassed within the last 3 years, 11% had seen someone else get sexually harassed and 86% had not encountered any sexual harassment at all..
If I am reading the source survey correctly, seems all of the above are wrong (and that includes the WSJ, which is the one reporting the survey was of women only):
This is from the original survey: 本次调查样本范围覆盖不同性别、年龄、职业、地段、受教育程度的市民 "The survey sample covering different gender, age, occupation, location, education level of the people" (Google Translation)
That means men answered the survey as well.
The figures ohdjango quotes above are for the whole survey audience, men and women.
The survey report that was the source of the WSJ article does not provide data for female respondents as a whole, it only breaks out the "16- to 25-year-old women" sub-segment, presumably because those are the ones getting harassed the most.
The data for the "16- to 25-year-old women" sub-segment is:
-- 48% felt that sexual harassment was increasing
-- 13% had been sexually harassed
-- 25% had seen someone else get sexually harassed
-- 67% had not been sexually harassed nor seen someone else get sexually harassed
(BTW this was one of those "check all that apply" questions, so the figures add up to more than 100%)
So we can conclude from that last data point that 33% either had been sexually harassed or been a witness to harassment.
So in retrospect the original statement in Steven's article should have not been:
"A survey indicates that 31 percent of women reported some kind of sexual harassment"
but rather
A survey indicates that 33 percent of women 16-25 years old reported some kind of sexual harassment"
So, we at the Beijinger regret the error and applaud our diligent commentators for pointing out the error.
We now refer netizens to Wall Street Journal, which has neither noticed nor corrected the error, and whose own commentators make our forum seem tame in comparison
If you look at the original report outlining the results of the survey, 14% of women reported either being victim of or witnessing sexual harassment. 31% stated that they felt sexual harassment was increasing.
'31% of women reported some kind of sexual harassment' is not an interpretation, its a misrepresentation. The truth is that 14% of women reported some kind of sexual harassment.
Of course, 31% is more sensational than 14%, so I understand why you are unwilling to make a correction.
Following the links, 31% of women felt that sexual harassment was increasing.
Of all the women surveyed, 3% had been sexually harassed within the last 3 years, 11% had seen someone else get sexually harassed and 86% had not encountered any sexual harassment at all..
I like the idea. No idea how/if it could be enforced, but it's an awesome idea. I've had a number of friends complain about this problem. I've never had an issue in the 15 years I've been here, but then I'm particular about enforcing my personal space when it comes to strangers; I think it's something to do with "teacher/mother/lao taitai/boss look" I tend to give anyone I'm irritated with. I do wish there were public classes here for women to teach them how to carry themselves so they don't look like victims, how to spot and avoid potential trouble, and how to deal with unwanted attention from strangers.
