City
Epaper

Uber received 235 rape reports in its vehicles in US

By IANS | Updated: December 6, 2019 10:40 IST

American ride-hailing giant Uber has disclosed that between January and December 2018, it received 235 complaints from people who claimed to have been raped while they were riding on some of their cars in the US.

Open in App

The San Francisco-headquartered company on Thursday published its Safety Report in the US, which provides data compiled in 2017 and 2018 on sexual abuse, homicides and fatal traffic accidents occurred in vehicles that are part of its platform, Efe news reported.

The number of rape incidents - defined as non-consensual sexual penetration - rose slightly compared to the 2017 figure, which stood at 229 cases.

The incidence for both years was approximately one out of every 5 million trips made by the company in the US.

Uber users reported around 3,000 cases of sexual harassment in vehicles last year, along with non-consensual kissing, touching and attempted rape.

The company pointed out that the case-load was very varied and that the complainants included both passengers who have been victims of drivers and vice versa, as well as passengers who had been sexually assaulted by other passengers.

In fact, Uber specified that while 54 per cent of those accused of sexual harassment were drivers, 45 per cent were passengers, and the remaining 1 per cent was third person or someone who couldn't be identified.

"Each of those incidents represents an individual who has undergone a horrific trauma. But I'm not surprised by those numbers. And I'm not surprised because sexual violence is just much more pervasive in society than I think most people realize," said Uber's chief legal officer, Tony West.

As for homicides, a total of nine people were killed inside an Uber vehicle in 2018, one less than the 10 killed in 2017.

In addition, 58 people died in traffic accidents while riding in an Uber car last year, one for every 20 million trips made by the company on US territory.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: usEFEIans
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalEarthquake in Russia: Quake of Magnitude 8.0 Strikes Kamchatka Peninsula; Tsunami Warning Issued

InternationalNASA Layoffs: 20% or 3,870 Employees to Exit US Space Agency

InternationalMichigan Plane Crash: 2 Killed After Small Aircraft Crashes Into Storage Facility Near Lowell City Airport in US

International'System-Wide Ground Stop': Alaska Airlines Grounded Over 200 Planes Due to IT Outage

International‘This Might Hit You Hard’: NATO Chief Mark Rutte's Warning to India, China, and Brazil Over Russia Ties Amid Ukraine War

International Realted Stories

InternationalIndia's US crude oil imports surge 51 per cent following Trump's return to office: Sources

International"You have been gravely misled by Pakistani military leadership": Baloch leader to Trump, says oil reserves belong to Balochistan

InternationalPakistan's July inflation rises to 4.1 pc amid fuel, food price hikes

InternationalUAE cementing its leadership in maritime sector through high-impact local projects

InternationalUAE's ADMA International leads on day two of Abu Dhabi World Grappling Championship in Al Ain