Call for ‘anti-rape’ metro carriages in Berlin

Berlin should introduce women-only metro carriages on city subways and trains due to a rise in violent assaults on the transport network, German MP Antje Kapek suggested in an interview with Bild newspaper on Wednesday.

The Greens’ transport spokesperson referred to a “terrible” case earlier this year, when a 33-year-old suspect assaulted and raped a 63-year-old woman on the subway. He then “calmly” left the scene and was arrested a few weeks later.

Women are “frequently exposed to violence and have a greater need for protection,” Kapek said.

Last year, nearly 4,200 violent crimes were committed on the metro, trains and buses in Berlin, according to police data. In the first nine months of this year, however, the number has jumped to over 5,600. Nearly 300 of these incidents involved sexual offenses.

The carriages reserved for women would be located either directly behind the driver or at the end of the train, Kapek explained. The proposal also includes expanded video surveillance, and emergency call boxes on platforms.

The German politician cited Japan as an example. Most lines in metropolitan areas of the Asian country have women-only carriages during rush hours. The system was introduced around 20 years ago to combat groping of female passengers on trains.

Similar measures exist in the Cairo Metro in Egypt, in the Rio de Janeiro Metro in Brazil, as well as on train networks in India, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

In response to a query from the German Press Agency, Berlin transport company BVG claimed that the existing safety measures were sufficient, namely alarm buttons in carriages, as well as information boxes and police officers at every station.

Right-wing politician Rolf Wiedenhaupt from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the fifth-largest party in the national parliament, called the idea “absurd.”

“Security is not created by separating victim categories, but by taking consistent action against criminals and by making quicker convictions,” Wiedenhaupt said, as quoted by Der Spiegel.

In a separate article, Bild interviewed women of different ages to gauge their opinion on the proposal. They all praised the idea and said they would use the ladies-only compartment. Most admitted to feeling unsafe on public transport, as well as having been the target of unwanted advances such as staring or groping. However, one 83-year-old respondent questioned “how this is supposed to be controlled and whether men will stick to it.”