Society

In Ukraine, a study has been conducted on how safe public transportation is in terms of violence

A fifth of Ukrainians sometimes experience violence in public transportation. This was found during a survey conducted as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign. The results of the survey are reported on the website of the Ukrainian office of the United Nations Development Program, informs Komersant ukrainskyi.

The survey was organized within the framework of a joint initiative of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Accelerator Lab of the United Nations Development Program in Ukraine and the Gender Working Group on Gender-Based Violence in Public Transport in Ukraine. More than 1200 public transport users were interviewed.

How often does violence occur?

One fifth of respondents sometimes experience violence. More than 18% have suffered from inappropriate behavior of other passengers at least once. More than 20% of passengers do not allow children under 12 to use public transportation on their own.

What is the reaction to violence?

38% of respondents used their voice to stop inappropriate actions. 28% decided to ignore the situation. Only 5.5% turned to the National Police for help.

When asked why the respondent did not intervene in the situation, more than 15% said that someone else intervened. Another 15% said they were afraid. Almost the same number of respondents, about 12%, said that the situation did not require intervention, or the respondent did not know how to help.

How to prevent violence

The top three safest methods of preventing violence are calling the 102 hotline (57%), asking others for help (37%), and calling for medical help (37%).

More than 40% of respondents believe that all passengers should be primarily responsible for safety.

The top three factors that increase the likelihood of violence are insufficient education and culture, crowds (overloading transport), and lack of video surveillance.

Among the main factors that can improve the level of safety in public transport, respondents named the installation of panic buttons to call for help, the introduction of constant video surveillance in the car or cabin, and training in safe violence prevention techniques.

The initiative was implemented by the Center for Social Change and Behavioral Economics in partnership with AICS Kyiv and the UNDP Accelerator Lab with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Qatar Development Fund, and the European Union.

As reported by [Kommersant]as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, a behavioral experiment was also conducted in public transportation in the capital to determine the reaction of ordinary Kyiv residents to manifestations of violence or disrespect for women.