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I recently found myself on a nearly-empty Brown Line car during the early evening, when I realized that a man sitting next to me was masturbating. I kicked him and yelled at him to stop, which he did, and he left the train at the next stop. My immediate reaction was to feel relieved that I had so quickly recognized and taken control of the situation. And although I was grossed out, my prevailing feeling was: Fuck you, man. Nice try.
So, dear readers, a reminder: on public transit, there are people who habitually expose themselves, who grope, rub against, or masturbate in front of other passengers. If you ever experience this behavior, or see this happening to someone else, you do NOT have to tolerate it. This kind of thing is against the law - it's a sex crime. So what are you supposed to do?
- Direct confrontation is usually the most effective response. Demand that the behavior stop, or loudly announce what is happening.
- If you are able, take a picture of the offender with a cell phone or camera, or ask another passenger to take a picture.
- In a situation where you feel threatened or unsafe, exit the train, and alert the operator or customer assistant.
- Report information or pictures to the Chicago Police, or by calling 311. Tips for giving a physical description: include height, weight, sex, age, race, or distinguishing marks and
clothing. Alert the CTA as well, giving additional information like the train car or bus route number, time of day, and where the offender boarded and exited. - You can also email photos and information to Kevin from great local blog CTA Tattler. For the past few years, Kevin has frankly and openly addressed this issue, publishing detailed descriptions of offenders, and directly soliciting statements from CTA representatives on the effectiveness of reporting an incident:
"When they have reports and know when and where incidents are occurring, they can map them and study them for patterns," said [VP of Communications Noelle] Gaffney. "Our security can work with police on deployment of officers, who may be plainclothes or uniformed, depending on the situation. If we find that any of the culprits are registered sex offenders, our Law Department will institute steps to ban them from the CTA system."
Nationally there have been several documented cases of men who have been reported, caught and arrested for habitual pervy behavior on public transportation.
Bottom line: if you see something, say something.
Chicago Police Department: call 312-746-6000 or 311 or email police@cityofchicago.org
CTA Customer Service: call 1 888-YOUR-CTA (1-888-968-7282) (weekdays 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) or email ctahelp@transitchicago.com
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Amy Good for you!!!!
Those damn sick'o pervo Guarding Angels!
But seriously, Amy good for you and Chicago! Thanks for being both courageous and an example!
Not as bad a masturbating, but I saw a creepy dude taking pictures of girls with his camera phone pretty obviously on a busy brown line while he pretended to be talking on it. I regret not saying anything, but once he got off, everyone around confirmed that they know what was going on.
Thank you for this post. I had a bus pervert who liked to feel my butt on more than one occasion, and didn't realize until it had happened for the third or fourth time that it's a crime that can be reported. Mostly I was in shock each time and couldn't react. But once I yelled at him at a bus stop before he could touch me, he ran away.
Being groped is just about the grossest feeling I've ever had in my life. It's not something that I'd recommend.
Thanks for the post, Amy! Not a CTA one, but I had the exact same experience on an overnight train through the Italian countryside with some dude in a white jumpsuit while he tried to cozy up to me. I stepped on him with heels, grabbed a conductor and it turned out that the perv was on the run from Italian police... for what, I don't know, as I don't speak Italian, but it was an interesting time. Always worthwhile speaking out!
A person was masturbating on the CTA, I wonder if that will hurt our chances to get the olympics?
I commend you for standing up for yourself and this is not that this is an excuse for his actions but aggravated assault is also against the law.
I'm glad you stood up for yourself!
A few weeks ago there was a guy on a crowded Brown Line train groping himself while trying to touch the skirt & legs of the girl sitting next to him. She looked visibly uncomfortable but didn't say anything - just kept pressing herself closer to the wall of the train to avoid his touch. I saw what he was doing (as did several other people) and yelled at him to stop what he was doing and get his f-in hands off her. He stopped for a bit and then started up again and I yelled at him again (the girl stayed silent for whatever reason). He shuffled off the train at the next stop.
i was recently urinated on in the mexico city metro.
it was jam-packed (4th of july on the red line jam packed) and dude just whipped it out and peed on my back.
i can't even tell you how that felt. i wanted to beat his ass - ("I'm not a stupid tall, blonde, gringa, you filthy pig - i went to school in saginaw michigan and will seriously hurt a fool") but he pushed himself out of the car and ran for it before i could process. i was still in the "did someone spill coffee on me?" moment.
moral of the story? mexicans don't drink coffee on the train. and use the woman and children only cars.
Representin' Saginaw, biyatch!!!
I had a guy try to feel me up on the bus about a week ago, absolutely miserable experience. He sat next to me and at first I thought it was just an accident that his arm/hand was in my personal space, so I moved over a bit and he moved with me. Eventually he started rubbing his elbow into my hip, while staring at me, and I almost got up but instead folded myself into this tiny posture against the side of the bus while making an angry face.
I think he could tell my next move was to get up and inform the driver, or maybe he just got all the fun he needed out of this elbowing session, but he got up to move to another seat soon after. To be honest I'm much too scared to confront people in these situations, but I wish I could.
Before I went to law school, I was a police officer. Here are some observations from my perspective:
You say "I found myself on a nearly-empty Brown Line car during the early evening ..."
Do not create a situation for a pervert: Get up and move. Move close to the door. If this situation develops after you have moved, do not hesitate to pull the emergency "stop" cord. Do not let a potential pervert block you in.
Do not confront a pervert within "lunging" distance. Confront -- yes. But not in his face. You do not want to potentially anger a pervert so that the situation turns into an assault.
Confront -- but leave yourself a rapid "out". Remember the pervert may have any of a number of weapons to subdue you.
Good article. You frankly discuss a situation which MUST be discussed.
regards,
arcto