Subway sex assault reports are down but that's not necessarily good news, Toronto police say

Fifty-six sexual assaults were reported on Toronto's subway system in 2015a substantial drop overthe year before, buta figure that has police concernedthe crime mightbe largely under-reported.

Reported sexual assaults on the subway weredown 16 per cent from 2014, when 67 cases were reported to police,Radio-Canada has learned.

But the Toronto Police Sex Crimes unit doesn't view the decline as a positive development.

"We want the numbers to go up, because that would mean that there are more cases being reported," said Det. Sgt. JoanneRudnick.

Source: Toronto Police Service

Rudnick also saidmany subway riders are not always aware of whattheterm"sexual assault" legally covers.Many women are still afraid to reporta sexual predatoreven if the assault takes place in a public spacelike the subway, she believes.

It does not only include rape, but also "any kind of touching of a sexual nature, like grazing, groping, squeezing, rubbing up against someone," she said.

In crowded subway cars, she added,TTC passengersmightnot even knowthey've been thetarget of a crime.

"An arm that comes down on somebody's lap, [women] may not even realize that this was a crime perpetrated against them", saidRudnick.

For Shoaib Shaikh, a frequent subway rider,the problem is that there is often a grey zone with some of these crimes.

"If it's a light brushing up against someone ...you can't be 100 per cent sure if it's intentional or not."

Tiffany Gibsonsaidshe has seen people masturbating on the subway before, but she didn't press the alarmbecause she just felt awkward about it.

Gibson said "riders just don't feel comfortable" in these situationsand they don't necessarily think to report it, perhapsbecause it doesn't directly affect them.

Reported sex crimes on the rise in New York, Vancouver and Montreal

While the number of reported cases went down in Toronto last year, it's not the case withother North American transit systems, such asthe New York City Subway, the Montreal Metro, and the Vancouver SkyTrain.

In Montreal, the number of reported subway sex crimesalmost doubled between 2014 and 2015. A spokesperson for Montreal policesaidthis hike could mean more crimes werecommitted, but it could also be a sign that more riders are ready to reportsex crimes.

In Vancouver, transit police haveseen a 66 per cent increase in the number of reported sex crimes in the last two years, after launching a new campaign where riders can use a text code to report crime in real time.

A new awareness campaign in 2016

CBCRadio-Canada has also learnedthe TTC will launch a new mobile app to help riders reportsexcrimes.

Toronto police also confirmedthat a sexual assault awareness campaign ison the agenda for 2016.

Jennifer Rollo, a spokesperson for Toronto-based support group Assaulted Women's Helpline, also believes that most crimes, whether they happen on the subway or at someone's house, are not reported.

Rollo thinks new awareness campaigns are a great idea, but also saida lot more has to changefor women to feel confident enough to report a sex crime.

"Even to this day, when a woman gets assaulted, she may ask herself,'Am I too sensitive? Too much of a prude? Too dramatic?'" said Rollo.

She stresses that education and awareness must start early, in the classroom, with lessons about consent and healthy relationships, for both young boys and girls.

Those issues were added to Ontario's sex-ed curriculum in September 2015. The Wynnegovernment said the upgraded curriculum wasneeded to keep childrensafe in light of changes in technology since the late 1990s. The curriculum hadn't been updated since 1998.