Women-only passenger car
[2] A similar policy was implemented at São Paulo Metro between October 1995 and September 1997, but the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) decided not to continue after some complaints by married couples and to avoid any possible contravention of article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution, that guarantees equality among citizens.
[citation needed] In 1909, the Women's Municipal League called for women-only cars on New York City's Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT).
[5] While the IRT rejected the proposal, the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad offered women-only cars between New York and Jersey City from April to July 1909.
Though intended to be exclusive to women, most train operators in Japan allow male elementary school pupils, disabled persons, and their assistants to board women-only cars.
[8][9] The police and railway companies responded with poster campaigns to raise awareness and with tougher sentences, but incidence continues to increase.
[11] In December 2000, Keio Electric Railway, which operates trains between Tokyo and its suburbs, offered women-only cars late at night on a trial basis, in response to complaints about groping by drunken men during the bōnenkai party season.
In July 2001, JR East began a similar service on the Saikyo Line, which connects Tokyo with Saitama Prefecture and had become notorious for gropers because of crowding and longer distances between stops.
[10] Other Osaka-area companies followed suit, including Osaka Municipal Subway, whose Midosuji Line, which carries passengers at as much as 160% capacity, had a reputation for having the worst groping problem in all of Japan.
[11] Visually-impaired men have been reported to unknowingly enter a women-only car and to be warned by other passengers, facing serious embarrassment.
[15] Japanese legislation from 1900 provides for a 10 yen fine for male passengers who enter a female-only railway car or waiting room; this law is technically still in effect, but the Japanese government has opined that it would not apply to the "women only" cars that are currently in use, making compliance with the "women only" rule voluntary from a legal perspective.
[16] The earliest instance of women-only cars in Japan was in 1912 on the present day Chuo Main Line, when they were introduced during rush hours to separate male and female students.
[citation needed] In Mumbai, the commercial metropolis, all suburban commuter trains have compartments specially meant only for women, though children of school-going age are also allowed to travel.
[22] An Indonesian railway company, PT Kereta Api, introduced women-only carriages on some KRL Jabotabek commuter trains in the Jakarta metropolitan area from August 2010 in response to many reports of sexual harassment in public places, including commuter trains and buses.
[25] On 12 December 2011, Transjakarta, the bus rapid transit operator in Jakarta, introduced women-only areas in its buses.
[28][29][30] Sexual harassment in Malaysia is common, and since 2010 trains on the Malaysian Railway have included pink-colored women-only cars as a means of cutting down on it.
[32] The Light Rail Transit Authority, which operates LRT Line 1 and the LRT Line 2 on the Manila Light Rail Transit System, had previously designated the first car (consisting of 2-3 articulated cars) of every LRT-1 trainset as exclusive to the elderly, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and adults with infants or children.
While some welcomed the measure as it made women feel safer, others thought that separating genders was "something from the past" and a "backward solution".
In September 2014, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport Claire Perry MP mentioned a possible revival of the women-only carriages during a speech to a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference.
[44] In August 2015, Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn said he would consult on the option of introducing women-only carriages to help reduce harassment.
