In latest case of alleged harassment, woman says bus driver told her ‘You’re naked’
22-year-old says Dan driver repeated his comments twice when she boarded with a sleeveless shirt; company says it’s investigating complaint
A young woman has filed a complaint with the Dan bus company, saying a bus driver in Tel Aviv commented on her state of dress when she boarded the vehicle wearing a sleeveless tank top.
In a Facebook post, the woman, 22, said the bus driver called out to her “Why are you naked?” repeating again: “You’re naked.”
Reut Beit Halachmi Amir’s allegation was the latest in a recent string of incidents in which women said they faced discrimination or harassment from drivers on public transport. The cases made national headlines, with many tying them to the atmosphere under the current right-wing religious government.
“It took me a few seconds to recover from my shock. I turned around and said: “What did you say to me? You said I’m naked?” she wrote.
Beit Halachmi Amir said the driver then denied this, but insisted she had heard him clearly.
“Without thought, my body turned toward the back seat, but on the way there I stopped. I turned back toward the driver and sat down in the front-most seat, closest to the driver, so me and my tank top will be closest to him, because he has no right to say anything to me about my body and he won’t make me hide in the back.
“Every few seconds the driver would look at me through the mirror and I stared back at him, until I reached my destination.”
Dan said in response it was conducting a thorough investigation into the allegations. It noted that the driver had offered a very different story, but said it was continuing its probe.
Last month several girls and young women said they were filing lawsuits against bus companies after a series of separate incidents in which they claimed they were discriminated against.
According to the local Haifa branch of the Ynet news site, a 14-year-old girl is suing the semi-private Egged for NIS 271,500 ($72,000) on charges that she was harassed and discriminated against when she boarded a bus in the city due to her outfit.
The lawsuit filed in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court claims that the teenager got on a 76 bus line in the city wearing shorts and a strapless top over a bathing suit. The driver allegedly asked her: “Do you have anything [else] to put on,” and then told her that if an inspector came she could be fined for her clothing choice.
“It was mortifying… the whole bus looked at me, it was embarrassing, I didn’t know what to do,” the teenager told Channel 12 news. “Since then I’ve been barely taking buses, I just don’t want anyone to say anything to me. If I do, I get on via the back door.”
In a statement, Egged said that it had immediately launched an inquiry into the incident once a complaint was made, and that the lawsuit “will be handled and addressed in court.”
That lawsuit joined at least two other similar suits in recent weeks. According to Channel 12 news, Hila Peleg, a 21-year-old from Ashdod, is suing the Electra-Afikim bus company after she was refused boarding on an 85 line bus in the city, and was told by the driver that the bus was only for men.
In addition, the family members of a group of young women who were told to sit in the back of a bus and cover their outfits with blankets on an 885 bus line from Ashdod to Safed have also chosen to sue the Nateev Express bus company over the incident.
In response to the allegations, Nateev Express issued a statement saying that the company “takes seriously and condemns any exclusion [of others] in the public space.” The company said the driver in question was employed by one of its subcontractors, and “acted contrary to the clear instructions of the company, the Transportation Ministry and the law.”
Nateev Express added that the driver has been suspended and the company apologized to the young women and instructed all its subcontractors “to refresh their drivers on the law and the Transportation Ministry instructions which bar such behavior.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly condemned the series of incidents. Netanyahu called for anyone who discriminates against passengers on public transportation to be punished.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, similarly vowed no tolerance for the phenomenon, saying any case of discrimination against female riders should be dealt with “severely.”
