Hollaback! Ottawa asking for bystander training to protect LRT users from harassment
Posted Aug 22, 2019 07:23:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A local group, fighting sexual and other forms of harassment, says the launch of Ottawa's light rail Confederation Line is a perfect opportunity to introduce measures that will protect residents from potentially being harassed on packed trains.
Hollaback! Ottawa wants the City of Ottawa and OC Transpo to introduce bystander training to prevent incidents from happening on its new transit system.
“We host training all the time, where people can come out and learn about the continuum of intervention [in situations where someone is being harassed],” said Julie Lalonde, Director of Hollaback! Ottawa. “We teach the four D's: direct, delegate, distract, and delay. We would like to see that kind of push by the city to show people that there are ways they can intervene.”
Hollaback! Ottawa has been lobbying OC Transpo to introduce a bystander training since 2013. According to Lalonde, the reason the city has been hesitant to introduce bystander training is because it could land it in a legal dispute.
“What we've been told is that it's a liability concern for them,” said explained. “This is something that I hear a lot in my work with different institutions — that if we encourage people to intervene, someone is going to get hurt and they will sue us.”
Lalonde believes this stance by the city shows “ignorance” towards bystander intervention. Most of the time, bystander intervention can be as simple as informing the driver of a situation that is taking place.
Hollaback! Ottawa says it isn't criticizing the OC Transpo, but the group sees an opportunity for the city to ensure passengers feel safe while riding the rails.
