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After years of denying the problem, Uber has reported nearly 6,000 sexual assaults in the United States in two years, while chauffeur-driven car (VTC) reservation services are widely accused of inefficiency and bad will in this area.
The VTC giant, Uber, published a detailed safety report on Thursday, which reveals that 5,981 sexual assaults were reported by users or drivers of its service, as well as third parties, in the United States. 2017 and 2018.
Four million journeys each day
This figure includes touching, attempted assault and rape. The same report counts 19 homicides over the same period. " These incidents were reported on 0.00002% of the races. Although rare, these reports all represent an individual who shared a very painful experience. Even a single report would be a report too much, "says Uber .
" This year, there have been nearly four million trips every day to Uber in the United States, " says Tony West, the group's legal director. " The platform reflects the world in which we operate, with its good and bad aspects ."
This report, the first of its kind, seeks to put incidents into perspective by mentioning the importance of the risks of sexual violence. And insists on efforts to combat these threats. In France, the testimonies of women assaulted during trips in VTC have multiplied in recent days on social networks, under the banner #UberCestOver (Uber is over).
Assaults during Uber races are unacceptable. Unacceptable for the victims, for the thousands of drivers who do their job in an exemplary way and for Uber. The courageous testimonies that have emerged call us to do better. We commit ourselves. pic.twitter.com/8oUdwBw509
Uber France (@UberFR) December 4, 2019"We pay you back the race"
The turmoil does not spare Lyft, the rival Uber in the United States, who had yet sought to position itself as a more responsible actor. Since September, 34 women have lodged a complaint in San Francisco against Lyft for sexual assaults in driver vehicles affiliated with the California company.
Caroline Miller, one of the complainants, fell asleep in the back of a car after celebrating her birthday. " When I woke up, he was raping me ," the young woman told a press conference on Wednesday.
The driver in question was arrested, but Lyft " did not apologize to me, they did not call or write me, " she said. " They just offered to pay him back ," said Michael Bomberger, the 34-woman lawyer.
Lyft had capitalized in 2017 on the #DeleteUber campaign, led by consumers who wanted to encourage the removal of the application, after revelations about the sexist and violent corporate culture that prevailed at the leader of the VTC.
Banished platforms
In terms of security, Uber, like Lyft , has made identity theft more difficult by drivers, tightened controls to detect criminals already convicted, and added a button in their applications to report a problem during the journey.
In case of report " they should be banned from the platform. It seems obvious, and yet it is not , "continues Michael Bomberger, who advocates systematic race registration for drivers to feel monitored, better cooperation with authorities, and more thorough checks of drivers' past.
" No one should have to go through what these women describe, " a spokeswoman for Lyft said on Wednesday. " Women face disproportionate risks. We know that, and that's why we work tirelessly to make security part of everything we do . "