"I'll Try and Make Myself as Small as Possible": Women and Gender-Diverse People's Safety Work on Public Transport

Jessica Ison; Kirsty Forsdike; Nicola Henry; Leesa Hooker; Angela Taft

doi:10.1177/10778012241270279

"I'll Try and Make Myself as Small as Possible": Women and Gender-Diverse People's Safety Work on Public Transport

Violence Against Women. 2024 Aug 6:10778012241270279. doi: 10.1177/10778012241270279. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jessica Ison¹, Kirsty Forsdike¹, Nicola Henry², Leesa Hooker^{1

3}, Angela Taft³

Affiliations

¹ La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
² School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 39105432
DOI: 10.1177/10778012241270279

Abstract

Public transport is a known hotspot for sexual violence and harassment. Through 41 interviews with women and gender-diverse people who have experienced sexual violence and harassment on public transport, we found that women and gender-diverse people engage in extensive "safety work," such as changing their behavior, strategizing, and planning. Safety work takes considerable time and effort, often leaving participants feeling stressed. However, participants advocated for changes to public transport to reduce the work they do to stay safe. We argue that significant changes, including primary prevention of gender-based violence, are needed to reduce their safety work.

Keywords: public transport; sexual assault; sexual violence; women; work.