Women's groups collecting stories about taxi safety in Whitehorse

Some Yukon women's groups are collecting surveys and stories from people in Whitehorseabout the safety of local taxis.

The Yukon Women's Coalition and the Yukon Status of Women Council hope the informationthey collect will encourage cab companies and city bylaw officers to take the issue more seriously.

The groups put together an online survey in response to some recent posts on social mediafrom people who have had bad experiences or felt unsafe in city cabs.

"[We] decided to kind of strike while the iron is hot and gather responses from as many folks as we could," said AjaMason of the Yukon Status of Women Council.

"We have done extensive training with cab companies and worked with bylaw services in Whitehorse to try to address this issue. It's been going on for a very long time ... and despite doing the level of advocacy we have done, and the trainingthat we have done, that's clearly not making a difference."

Mason said too many women still feel unsafe in cabs.

"You're worried that the person who picks you up is going to attack you, worried that you're going to be locked in the cab, worried that they know where you live. This is just unacceptable. This is atrocious," she said.

The online survey asks whether the respondent has ever experienced violence, harassment or inappropriate behaviour while taking a cab. It offers examples,such asdrivers taking a longer route to a destination, offering fares in exchange for sex,not wearing a COVID[-19]-safe mask, or assault.

It also asks whether the respondent saw the cab driver's identification displayed, orifthey saw a functioning camera on board, as required by a city bylaw. It also asks whether they reported any incident to the city or the police.

Mason says the survey is about documenting what happens and using that informationto keep pressing for change.

"This surveyis going to provide at least some semblance of what hopefully will constitute as 'evidence' for bylawservices ...to increase the priority of the safety of women and girls," she said.

It's also about understanding the scope of the issue, she said. For example, what choices are women forced to make when they feel unsafe calling a cab late at night?

"What are the downstream effects of women saying, like, 'hey, I'm not going to catch a cab anymore. I'm choosing to walk home'? How is that compromising her safety?"

Mason says the survey results will be shared with Whitehorse bylaw services, RCMPand also be made public.