Over the course of two years, the ridesharing company, Uber, has received nearly 6,000 allegations of sexual assault from both passengers and drivers, ranging from non-consensual touching and kissing to rape. Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer, stated that Uber takes no responsibility for these incidents.

“At the scale that Uber operates, we’re going to see both the good and the bad that happens in society because we’re operating so many trips every single day. One of the unfortunate but sad truths is that sexual assault, sexual violence is far more prevalent in American society than a lot of people recognize. [It] exists in companies, it exists in classrooms, it exists on university campuses and homes. Uber’s not immune to that,” West said. 

On Dec. 5, Uber released a report addressing a variety of safety incidents that occurred between 2017 and 2018. Sexual assault was one of the most severe cases. There were 1,440 reports of sexual violence in 2017 and 1,560 reports in 2018. 

The company’s statistics, however, do not capture the complete picture. Uber defines sexual assault in only five categories: non-consensual kissing, touching of a sexual body part, kissing of a sexual body part, attempted sexual penetration, and sexual penetration. The report did not include complaints of other forms of sexual misconduct, such as verbal threats.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center and other advocacy groups have been working with Uber to prevent future incidents. For instance, Uber has introduced a “panic button” in its app, which allows passengers and drivers to contact emergency services. Sensors must also be installed onto drivers’ smartphones to perform continuous background checks.

West professed his faith in Uber, stating, “I feel comfortable that Uber is a very safe mode of transportation. And I think the data in this report actually indicates that as well.”

From 2017 to 2018, the rate of sexual assault incidents decreased in every category while the average rate of reports per ride fell by 16% across all categories.

However, Uber warns that these rates could go up as more and more people are encouraged to report sexual assault. In the 2.3 billion rides that occured in the U.S. during those 2 years, only 0.1% of passengers have filed a complaint concerning their safety. As of now, this percentage remains the norm in all businesses due to notoriously low reporting rates for sexual assault.

Uber assures that those who have faced sexual violence and misconduct while using its services will have their claims thoroughly investigated by police and criminally prosecuted.

Photo courtesy of BBC.COM