Given the harassment that women can face on the subway, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) recalls that several systems are in place to help victims in these situations, which it considers “unacceptable”.
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“This is the third time in a week that I was on the subway around 9 p.m. and a homeless man or random guy was harassing and following a girl,” reads a Reddit post from a few days ago.
The person cited Lionel-Groulx, Atwater and Guy-Concordia tube stations on the green line as places where this type of harassment allegedly took place.
“We would like to recall the unacceptable nature of any form of street harassment, perpetrated against our customers or our employees,” responded on Monday Philippe Déry, Corporate Public Relations Advisor at STM.
Public transport passenger safety is shared between the STM and the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
A customer who does not feel safe can always notify an employee of the Montreal transport company, Mr. Déry reminded. Telephones on the platform of each station and intercoms in the carriages are available to reach authorities.
If necessary, special STM police officers are also on site.
“The status of a special police officer facilitates the management of situations on the ground, enabling him to reasonably arrest a person who has committed a crime and hand him over to the police, or intervene with a person suspected of harassment.” , he said Mr. Déry.
Victims and witnesses of such incidents should also report them.
“All our customers have the right to be able to travel safely and comfortably by bus and subway,” he said.