This document summarizes a research report on assessing the level of sexual harassment faced by women on public buses in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The research found that 85% of respondents had faced some form of harassment. Harassment most often took place between 4-9pm and in crowded and dark buses. While most women felt unsafe on buses, few reported incidents due to lack of awareness about legal protections and support services. Recommendations included awareness campaigns, technology solutions, increased monitoring, and dedicated women-only buses and services to improve safety.

1. ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT WOMEN FACE ON THE PUBLIC
BUSES IN THE CITY OF COLOMBO AND FINDING METHODS TO PREVENT THEM.
MAY |2016
FINAL RESEARCH REPORT PRESENTATION

2. SLIDE OUTLINE
1. Introduction
2. Research Problem
3. Research Objectives
4. Research Methodology
5. Selection of the Sample
6. Limitations
7. Findings of the survey
• Brief Overview
8. Recommendations and Conclusions

3. INTRODUCTION
▪ This survey is a pilot intervention to improve women's safety in public
bus transport in Colombo.
▪ This study was sparked by a survey published by Legal Aid Commission,
Sri Lanka in 2012 which found that of women have experienced sexual
harassment in public transport. 70%
▪ The project was carried out by a team consists of 8 undergraduates at
Department of Transport and Logistics Management, University of
Moratuwa under the guidance of Mr. Mahen Muttiah, a visiting lecturer
and Ms. Uthpalee Hewage, research assistant, both working at University
of Moratuwa.

4. RESEARCH PROBLEM
“How is the women’s mobility being
affected by the unsafe environment and
What works in reducing the sexual
harassment and sexual offending on public
Bus transport in Colombo?”

5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
▪ Identify the perspectives and needs of women regarding safety
from sexual harassmentin public bus environments in the city of
Colombo.
▪ Assess the level of knowledge of the law on sexual harassment of
women and on methods to prevent or how to file a complaint.
▪ Discuss a series of recommendations for reducing women’s
fear and achieving greater safety and mobility in public bus settings.

6. METHODOLOGY
▪ For this study sexual harassment was defined as an unwelcome act of
a sexual nature, using assault, criminal force, or words or actions,
which causes annoyance or pain of mind to the person being harassed
(Act Now Sri Lanka )
▪ For the purpose of this study the sexual harassment on public buses
defined as:
1. Verbal (Comments, whistling etc.)
2. Physical (Touching, feeling up, groping)
3. Visual (Staring, leering, gesticulating etc.)

7. METHODOLOGY (CONT.)
▪ The survey was carried out using a mixed methods approach – comprised of four stages.
On street
survey
(at Bus
Halts)
Stage 4
Online
survey
(google
form)
Stage 3
Pilot
Survey
( on
buses)
Stage 2
Face to
face
interviews
(Qualitative)
Stage 1
▪ Stage 1 : The interviews was carried
out with 4 women to identify the
issues they face on buses in Colombo.
▪ Stage 2: After compiling the
questionnaire a Pilot Survey was
conducted on Buses. This Survey
method had many issues.
▪ Google forms were sent by email and
Social media networks to the
identified women who have been
travelling by busses in Colombo.
▪ On street survey was carried out at
identified survey stations (Bus halts)
in Colombo with relevance to 100 bus
route.

8. SELECTION OF THE SAMPLE
▪ STAGE 1: 4 Respondents were selected using non probability sampling method –
purposive sampling
▪ STAGE 2: 10 Respondents were selected using non probability sampling method –
Accidental, Haphazard or convenience sampling
▪ STAGE 3 : 50 Respondents were selected using non probability sampling method –
Accidental, Haphazard or convenience sampling mostly through Facebook.
▪ STAGE 4 : 50 Respondents were selected using non probability sampling method –
convenience and purposive sampling - Accidental, Haphazard or Convenience
Sampling.
Stage No of surveys attempted Number of surveys completed
1 5 4
2 10 10
3 50 50
4 50 47

9. LIMITATIONS
▪ The limitations of this study acknowledged, particularly respect to the
small number of respondents when compared to total number of
women who travels by bus in city of Colombo.
▪ In addition despite the diversity of the women’s age groups being
informed in the survey, the age group of 16-30, at 72% was
overwhelmingly represented in the survey responses.
▪ Targeting women’s groups via Facebook makes it more likely that
respondents would have a feminist/ anti-sexist point of view.

10. DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE SURVEY
5
5%
68
70%
20
21%
4
4%
Age groups of the Respondents
Below 16 16-30 30-50 above 50
Moratuwa
Katubedda
Soysapura
Maliban
Golumadama
Mt.Lavania
Dehiwala
Wellawatta
Bamalapitiya
Fort
0 2 4 6 8 10
Survey Stations of the on street survey
No of respondents

11. FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY
Highlights of some key findings from the activities carried out as part of
situational analysis.

12. OVERALL FIGURES
Below
16
% 16-30 % 30-50 % Above
50
% Total Total%
Had
experienced
3 60% 58 85.3% 17 85% 4 100% 82 85.5%
Had not
experienced
2 40% 10 14.3% 3 15% 0 0% 15 15.5%
Total no. of
respondents
5 100 68 100 20 100 4 100 97 100
Every category of age group has suffered from sexual harassment on busses.
ALERT
85.5% of total respondents have said they have been harassed/teased by men on buses in Colombo.
BREAKING DOWN THE DATA - VICTIMS OF SEXAL HARASSMENT/TEASING

13. Travel frequency Vs having a private vehicle at home Vs being a
victim of sexual harassment
52.50%
18.75%
55.56%
61.53%
57.50%
81.25%
44.44%
38.46%
92.50%
85.42
77.78%
76.92%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
DAILY ONCE A WEEK ONCE A MONTH NEVER TRAVELLED/
RARELY
has private vehicle at home Do not have a private vehicle at home expirienced harassment/teasing
• Daily commuters have a high
rate of being harassed.
• According to the survey the
level of harassment directly
proportionate to the travel
frequency.
• Apart from ‘once a week
travelers’, those who travel
less mostly likely to have a
private vehicle at home.

14. 2
2%
11
11%
57
59%
27
28%
TOTAL RESPONDENTS - 97
Very Safe Safe Not very safe Not safe at all
Just over 87% of the respondents felt city’s bus service
was either unsafe or very unsafe. Only 2 out of 97
respondents believed that the Bus was a very safe mode of
transport while 11 believed it was safe.
By the looks of it the perception of the bus on the minds of
women has tarnished and will be needing a face-lift.
THE SAFETY LEVEL IN PUBLIC BUSES IN COLOMBO CITY

15. 55.55%
37.78%
6.67%
Partially No, I don’t know Thoroughly
KNOWING THE WOMEN’S
HELP LINE(1938)
KNOWING THE LAWS
AGAINST HARASSMENT OR
TEASING OF WOMEN
24.44%
75.56%
yes no

16. PROPORTION AS IN WHAT WAYS THE WOMEN BEING HARASSED
IN BUSES.
Yes, 77
No, 13
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Yes No
No of responses
48
49
38
Verbal
Physical
Visual
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
No of Responses
❖ Majority of women (86%) have faced to at least one type
of harassment.
❖ 23.33% of women have experienced all the three type of
harassments.
Have you ever faced with harassment of
teasing by men in bus in Colombo city?

17. IN WHAT TIME OF THE DAY HARASSING DONE?
34.15%
12.20%
29.27%
67.07%
14.63%
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%
6 am – 10 am
10 am – 1.30 pm
1.30 pm – 4 pm
4 pm – 9 pm
9 pm – 6 am
No of Responses
❖ 67.07% has responded that 4 pm-9 pm as the time they have faced to the
harassment.

18. 78.05%
20.25%
35.44%
12.66%
CROWDED NOT CROWDED DARK THE BUS WAS WELL LIGHTED
▪ Majority (78.05%) have commented that the bus was dark at the time they were harassed.
▪ 20% and 13% has commented: they were harassed though the bus was not crowded and well lighted
respectively.
THE STATE WHICH THE BUS WAS IN WHEN WOMEN ARE
BEING HARASSED

19. REPORTING TO THE RELEVANT AUTHORITIES
90%
10%
Reported Not Reported
❖ Only 71 out of 78 said that they’ve reported the
incidents to the relevant authorities.
❖ This is a very low rate of response given the level of
sexual harassments women face on buses.

20. AVOIDING THE USAGE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT
35%
65%
Do you avoid public buses whenever possible
and use other modes due to the safety level?
yes no
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
No Yes
Has private
vehicle
Has no private
vehicle
• The most suffered from the
unsafe environment are
those who doesn’t have a
private vehicle.
• Those who have a private
vehicle at home tend to
change to another mode of
transport whenever
possible.
• The bus trade loses
considerable amount of
revenue because of this.

21. SAFETY MEASURES UNDERTAKEN BY WOMEN45
46
5
10AVOID GOING OUT
ALONE BY THE
BUSSES AFTER DARK
AVOID WEARING
CERTAIN CLOTHES
CARRY ITEMS SUCH
AS PEPPER SPRAY/
SAFETY PINS ETC
NONE
• Most of the women who were exposed to
sexual harassment expressed that they would
not go out alone by the buses after dark.
• This clearly affects the mobility of the women
and their social equity goes down as a result.

22. PREFERENCE ON SUGGESTED METHODS TO COMBAT SEXUAL
HARASSING ON BUSES
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
CCTV cameras
better lighting and…
Advertising campaigns
Grassroot action
Online platforms and…
Women-only busses
Patrolling service

23. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONSHow to combat sexual Harassments and create a safer environment for women while increasing their mobility.

24. KEY FACTS IN A NUTSHELL
61%
Verbal
86%
faced
harassments
87%
Didn’t feel
safe
only
10%
reports
57%
Avoids
night
rides
48%
visual
65%
Avoids
buses
when
possible
62%
physical
only
7 %
Knows the
law
4 pm – 9pm
Most likely
harassment
to happen

25. OVER-ALL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY OF COLOMBO
Service planning &
Operations
Institutional Capacity Infrastructure &
Vehicles
Enforcements/
Grievance System
Protocols for fitness
certificate
Manager – women's’
safety & mobility
CCTV cameras
employed in the bus
Provisions for help
lines.
Operations Training Women safety and
gender sensitivity
training
Better lighting of the
bus
Common data base
for bus personnel
Special Bus for
women
Women safety
campaign
Inside advertising
campaigns
Smart phones apps
to lodge complaints
and share
information
Women Employees Colombo Women
Safe Committee

26. ISSUE
RESPONSIBLE
AGENCY
SOLUTION
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PROTOCOLS FOR BUS CONTRACTS SPECIFICATIONS
(Not issuing bus license without )
NATIONAL
TRANSPORT
COMMISION
ROAD PASSENGER
TRANSPORT
AUTHORITY –
WESTERN PROVINCE
LACK OF EVIDENCE
AND CONSTANT
WATCHING OVER

27. ISSUE
RESPONSIBLE
AGENCY
SOLUTION
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WOMEN-ONLY BUSSES
NATIONAL
TRANSPORT
COMMISION
Ministry of Child
Development and
Women’s Affairs, Sri
Lanka
WESTERN PROVINCE
TRASNPORT
AUTHORITY
DESERTED AMONG
MEN , THE BUS
ENVIRONMENT
BEING TOO MUCH
MEN PRESENCE

28. ISSUE
RESPONSIBLE
AGENCY
SOLUTION
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NEW TECHNOLOGY: ONLINE PLATFORMS AND
SMARTPHONE APPS FOR WOMEN TO SHARE THEIR
EXPERIENCES, REPORT INCIDENTS
NATIONAL
TRANSPORT
COMMISION
Ministry of Child
Development and
Women’s Affairs
Department of C.S.E,
University of
Moratuwa
WESTERN PROVINCE
TRASNPORT
AUTHORITY
WOMEN BEING
RELUCTANT TO
LOGDGE A
COMPLAINT OR
DISCUSS THEIR
PROBLEMS IN PUBLIC

29. ISSUE
RESPONSIBLE
AGENCY
SOLUTION
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GRASSROOTS ACTION: INCLUDING COMMUNITY
OUTREACH, AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, AND
DEMONSTRATIONS, TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION
AND START A PUBLIC CONVERSATION
Ministry of Child
Development and
Women’s Affairs
COLOMBO
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
WESTERN PROVINCE
TRASNPORT
AUTHORITY
SRI-LANKA POLICE
DEPARTMENT
LACK OF AWARENESS
ABOUT THE LAW
AND THE HELP LINE
EMERGENCY
NUMBERS

30. ISSUE
RESPONSIBLE
AGENCY
SOLUTION
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ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - Sensitively designed
campaigns aimed at increasing reporting, raising
awareness, and challenging attitudes
COLOMBO
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
WESTERN PROVINCE
TRASNPORT
AUTHORITY
Ministry of Child
Development and
Women’s Affairs
LACK OF AWARENESS
AND CHALLENGING
ATTITUDES

31. ISSUE
RESPONSIBLE
AGENCY
SOLUTION
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Patrolling service in each bus by marshals
of women's and child protection ministry
NATIONAL
TRANSPORT
COMMISION
Ministry of Child
Development and
Women’s Affairs
WESTERN PROVINCE
TRASNPORT
AUTHORITY
Ministry of Justice
TOO MUCH
HARASMENT
DURING THE PEAK
HOURS AND LACK OF
GRIEAVANCE
SYSTEMS

32. THE TEAM
Mr.H. Rahubaddha
141456X
Miss. S. Hettiarachchi
141416C
Mr. D. Chathuranga
141407 B
Miss. H. Himanthika
141417 F
Mr. U.H. Gamage
141450A
Mr. K. Uduwana
141449E
Miss. N. Niveshanthini
141429 T
Mr. M. Amarawansa
141402 F

33. Call "1938" for any complaints or legal assistance.
It's the help line operating directly under the supervision of Ministry of Women
and Child Affairs, Sri Lanka.
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR VALUABLE TIME

34. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS?