BART launches 'We Got You' cards to discreetly interrupt harassment on trains
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- BART is launching phase two of their 'Not One More Girl' campaign, which is meant to raise awareness of sexual harassment on transit.
In the next phase, they'll be handing out physical wallet-sized cards to help quietly interrupt harassment when riders see it or experience it.
"Especially post-COVID, as we're seeing drops in ridership and things like that, we really have to look and see what are the things that are stopping riders from coming back, and this really felt like something that we could impact in a really significant way," Jennifer Easton, the art program manager of BART said.
After phase one of the campaign which placed specific artwork all over train cars and BART stations, their data from surveys of randomly selected BART riders shows that 65% of people say they are now more aware of sexual harassment or gender-based violence, 59% say that they know what to do if they witness harassment and 36% responding that they felt safer riding BART.
On Friday, at a pop-up event in Oakland's First Fridays, BART is launching phase two of their campaign, 'We Got You,' after working with a number of girls at Oakland School for the Arts and the Unity Council's Latina Mentorship Program.
"They came up with these great ideas, about what if I had a card that I could hand to somebody if I'm being harassed or that somebody could hand me if they could help me?" Easton said. "So we're actually going to pilot that."
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BART will start handing out to riders at events like Oakland's First Fridays and the Fruitvale Farmers Market, meant to serve as a subtle tool to interrupt harassment.
"It gives how to text BART police, or how to contact the train operator, things like that, really simple straightforward stuff and it really creates another layer of how to protect yourself and how to help others," she said.
One card comes in green which says, "You got me?" to serve as a silent signal, slipped to another passenger, that you are being harassed. A second card comes in orange which says, "I got you" if you notice someone in the process of being harassed.
"This is all coming from the youth, it's all coming from the community and we're just thrilled to have this outside of the box thinking to try to tackle some of these issues," she said.
If you are experiencing harassment or if you see it happening, you don't have to use these cards and can still call police right away to report it.
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