Sexual assaults are on the rise Berlin wants to introduce women's carriages on public transport - and Switzerland?

Berlin wants to introduce women's carriages in underground and suburban trains. The reason: Increasingly, women no longer dared to take public transport alone in the evening. And what is Switzerland doing?

As a woman, you are somehow always on your guard. Should you walk through the underpass in the evening? Headphones in or out when it's already dark? Who is sitting next to me on the train?

The German capital Berlin is currently grappling with the latter question. More and more women have been afraid to take the underground and S-Bahn alone in the evening. Green transport expert Antje Kapek therefore wants to set up extra carriages just for women. This is also the case in the Japanese capital Tokyo.

There are to be explicitly marked zones with emergency call points and video surveillance on the platforms. And some carriages that can only be used by women outside of rush hours. "Either directly behind the driver or at the end of the train if there is a second driver, as in Tokyo," says Kapek in a statement.

In the last ten years, the number of sexual offenses on Berlin's public transport system has risen by 260 percent. Last year there were 391 offenses. 89 percent of the victims were female and 90 percent of the perpetrators were men.

A third of young women have been sexually harassed on public transport in Switzerland

And in Switzerland? In this country, too, sexual assaults on public transport occur time and again. In February, it was revealed that over a third of all young women have been sexually harassed on public transport. This was announced by the report centers "Bern schaut hin" and "Zürich schaut hin".

This involves suggestive gestures, verbal comments or touching. Regula Bühlmann from the City of Bern's Office for Gender Equality said that these were not crimes of violence under criminal law.

In September, SBB published a survey showing that 1,400 of its female employees had already been sexually harassed.

No women's compartments or carriages planned in Switzerland

"The introduction of special women's compartments or carriages is currently not planned," wrote SBB in response to a blue News inquiry. In a recent customer survey conducted by SBB on the needs and evaluated customer feedback, there was no demand for special women's compartments or carriages.

SBB also wrote: "It is important to us that rail customers feel safe and comfortable in stations and on trains. Passengers also rate safety on trains as high."

Nevertheless, incidents can occur in everyday travel that can have a negative impact on the feeling of safety. "We recommend that passengers contact our staff in such situations or call the transport police in emergencies," write SBB.

In addition, modern trains have emergency buttons, which are located in the entrance area of the carriages, among other places. Pressing the button establishes a direct connection to the transport police operations center.

SBB has also deployed around 2,400 cameras at stations and 22,300 cameras on trains. Since September, the transport police have also been wearing bodycams as a de-escalation measure. "We train our employees in how to deal with sensitive situations involving themselves or customers. The ability to deal with difficult situations such as sexual harassment or assault is part of the training and will be reinforced in the future," writes SBB.

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Many measures in place to ensure safety

blue News also asked Zurich's public transport operator VBZ: "For one year - from February 2023 to February 2024 - VBZ took part in the city's 'Zürich schaut hin' project against sexual, sexist and homo- and trans-hostile harassment in public spaces with a prevention bus on line 32 in Zurich and additional posters."

The aim was to raise public awareness of sexual, sexist and homo- and trans-hostile harassment and to highlight options for action.

Many measures are also currently in place to ensure safety on the VBZ network. For example, customer advisors who carry out ticket checks regularly undergo de-escalation training and are accompanied by coaches in the team.

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Women's carriages also attract criticism

In 2016, Australia also discussed the introduction of women's carriages on public transport. However, the idea was criticized rather than praised. Radio presenter Ben Fordham, for example, said: "I find the idea that women have to be protected from someone like me really, really strange."

Both women and men would do bad things to others, so it would be better to focus on punishing the perpetrators in general. One user on Twitter wrote that women, as potential victims, are the ones who suffer and suggested "men-only wagons".