Further, perceptions of insecurity vary in different urban environments—at the bus and rail stations, on their way to and from the bus and rail stations. Another study by Quinones [21] highlights the ways in which women in Bogotá, Colombia, experienced sexual harassment in public spaces with special reference to public transport (inside vehicles, on stations / stops and walking routes to and from their origins or destination). Effectively, it is argued by Quinones, that there are three main sections of any journey where women are at risk – (i) the ‘first’ and ‘last’ mile, (ii) public transport waiting areas and (iii) in vehicle (road or rail-based). It is also clear that women develop individual strategies to avoid the risk of harassment, these include changing journey times and routes, only travelling in daylight, travelling in groups, and requesting someone to meet them at the bus/rail stop to name a few. It is important to note that though women have developed coping mechanisms or personal strategies to address existing risks, this can include that they also choose not to travel at all. In one of the most extensive international surveys on the topic, it was found that over 82% of the respondents reported taking a different route home/to their destination to avoid GBVAH [18]. This is confirmed in various studies [9;22].

The Flone Initiative, a Nairobi based NGO, investigated incidents of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Nairobi’s public transport system and found it to be widespread across all the routes studied. Seventy-three percent of the managers, 44% of operators and 88% of commuters had heard of or witnessed cases of VAWG on their respective routes, with most incidents occurring at bus stations and in vehicles. This is confirmed by Mwangi [23], who further elaborates that the most common form of violence against women in Nairobi on the popular form of informal public transport, matatus4, was abusive language (26%), indecent touch (23.3%) and physical harassment (20%). Importantly, the main category of aggressors was reported to be matatu crews (87%). Victims of gender-based violence in matatus were also often found to be silent spectators, reflecting a lack of protocols for raising complaints, and limited faith in the law enforcement agencies to tackle issues of gender-based violence (ibid).

Additionally, women’s fear of harassment in daily travels has strong intersectional dimensions. Intersectionality in this context refers to how aspects like race, age, class, cultural and educational background, sexual orientation, disability status, participation in paid labour force, home-based or employment in informal sector etc. overlap and create variegated landscapes of fears and opportunities. A recent study from Bogotá [21] confirms this issue as intersections with age and class were found to play a very important role in experiences of sexual harassment in public transport and public spaces. Finally, the same study notes that policies proposed so far in Bogotá have been unsuccessful in reducing sexual harassment in public transport and, in many cases, do not tackle the problem.