‘I was scared for my safety’: Harassment, threats, violence follow women onto public transit

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on girls' experiences riding on public transit, including BART. Girls report frequent harassment, threats, and violence as well as a lack of response from officials and the community. In December, Alliance for Girls hosted a meeting about enhancing safety on public transit for girls, with representatives from 12+ member organizations of AFG, BART officials, and girls.

Krisya Ceja gets anxious when she’s on public transportation, where she often has to dodge men invading her personal space and asking for her phone number or Instagram handle.

“I’m telling them I’m underage, and they still persist,” said Krisya, a 17-year-old senior at Life Academy in East Oakland. “I have to make sure I know where the nearest exit is.”

One weekend afternoon last summer, she couldn’t get away. She was on BART traveling to a family event in San Francisco. The train car was nearly empty, she said, so she took a window seat and put her headphones on.

“This guy chose to sit right next to me, and he tried to talk to me,” she said. “I was scared to ask to move, because I felt that he would get offended. I was scared for my safety.”

The man slid his hand underneath the jacket on his lap and began touching himself.

She felt powerless as she stared out the window.

“I didn’t want to know what was going on,” said Krisya, who recalled feeling like she was having a panic attack as she texted with a friend.

Nobody should get harassed in public spaces, but harassment is a reality shared — endured, really — by girls and women when they travel alone. Since the tragic slaying of Nia Wilson on the MacArthur BART Station platform, I’ve thought a lot about what girls and women have to navigate when riding public transportation — the catcalls, the stares, the inappropriate touching, the threats of violence.