good for NYC! now if we can get that message on trains and buses across the US...

Excellent! Now, for every mode of public transportation in NYC and other cities to follow suit with a similar message about how unacceptable sexual harassment is...let's dare to dream!

Just a small note: Would it hurt to have some sort of "Emergency Call" or "Please Report" number prominently displayed as well.. by the time someone gets to "an MTA employee or police officer", the culprit will probably already be gone. The threat of a direct phone number someone could call to AT THE TIME with their cell phone might give some of these jerk-offs (pun intended) a new perspective on the risks of getting caught in the act (again intended).

I kind of like that it's directed at victims without being blameful (is that a word?). I've never experienced that kind of harassment, but something I always hear from people who have is how helpless they feel. It seems like whoever wrote this ad was aware of that.

I have to say, I really wish the signs were about or at least included a message to the people doing the harassing, like "You have no right to touch other people and you will be arrested"

It's like people assume there's no way you can change the guys who harass (or rape, or abuse, etc.) and the only thing we can do is try better to catch them and be there for the victims. Major pet peeve.

We've had the signs in Boston for a few months now, and apparently there has been a jump in reports of sexual harassment/assault on the T. I don't know how big yet (the T police haven't released statistics yet), but it looks like the posters are having SOME affect. Kudos to NYC for finally moving forward.

Goanna, Cell phones don't work on the subway but it is true that by time you tell someone the perp is usually gone.

After Pride a gay couple was attacked by a straight couple and when they told the train personel they were ignored and told train was out of service.

There needs to be enforcement, but these signs are a GREAT first step.

Great first step. I am excited about this. But, yeah, would be great if someone were more accessible to enforce this.

While we're excited that the MTA is finally recognizing that sexual harassment and assault is indeed a problem in the subway - more can be done! We're establishing a Subway Safety Coalition with HollaBackNYC, Girls for Gender Equity and other organizations, to pursue increased safety measures like a hotline so victims and witnesses can take more action than "report it to an MTA agent/police officer". Also, these crimes aren't currently tracked as stand-alone offenses by subway station or line. There is so much more the MTA/NYPD can do to address sexual harassment and assault in the subway. If you are interested in learning more about this effort, please contact us through our website!

Haley - I totally agree with you and would like to see such a message included in the ads or put in their own ads. However, most men who would actually do something like grope a woman on a bus or train likely wouldn't be affected at all by a sign telling them not to do it. On the other hand, most women who might normally be shy or uncomfortable about reporting someone for touching them WOULD probably be energized or emboldened by a sign telling them what happened to them was wrong and they shouldn't feel like they have to take it. And if more guys get some sort of punishment for sexual harassment, maybe maybe maybe that would lead to some of them actually discontinuing the behavior.

Maybe...

The original plan for the anti-harassment awareness campaign was meant to be almost exactly the same as the Boston one, but the problem with having a hotline to call was that VICTIMS ACTUALLY CALLED.

As crazy as that sounds, this is their reasoning: posters make perverts. Yes, the Boston ads actually turned regular men into gropers by putting this idea into their head.

So, the MTA halted that campaign, and after pressure and the threat of media coverage, they have come up with this substitute, which offers no message to offenders that they will be prosecuted, and no number to call for victims, whether they are getting reception on the subway (often the case since a lot of it is overground) or after (since attendants are not necessarily equipped to deal with victims).

My personal feeling on the issue is that if the MTA made an effective campaign like the one in Boston, they would have to start tracking crimes that happen on the subway (which they don't), and start spending money on making the subway safer for women (and everyone else, for that matter.) So they made sure that this campaign had no teeth.

Here is a link to a Channel 7 piece on the "posters make perverts" idea:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/media?id=6266693

Goanna/ArmyVetJen:

SO if most cell phones cannot pick up reception on the subway, is it a viable idea to take a picture of the perps with the same cellphone? Most cellphones are equiped with cameras that actually have decent resolution and quality. Maybe some of these signs could feature pictures of these pervs saying, "Don't be THAT guy."...
Then again the mucky business of lawsuits and civil liberties abuses--- pervs have rights too (whistle, whistle...)/sarcasm/

Don't remember what subways in New York have, but in Toronto there is a yellow strip you can press to stop the train in cases of crime, harassment, medical emergencies, etc. I'm sure I would press this strip if I were groped, since this is a sexual assault and a sexual assault is a crime.