--- title: Banning Uber Won’t Make Delhi Women Any Safer description: Decreasing access to alternative transportation is a short-term solution to the idea of masculinity that contributes to India's epidemic of sexual assault canonical: https://time.com/3625633/india-uber-rape-safety/ author: Mallika Dutt article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-09T18:37:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:14.472Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Banning Uber Won’t Make Delhi Women Any Safer, And It Could Make Things Worse og:description: Decreasing access to alternative transportation is a short-term solution to the idea of masculinity that contributes to India's epidemic of sexual assault og:url: https://time.com/3625633/india-uber-rape-safety/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c682518ba491228/69876da9e53aba2a684d66cd/460096236.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6653 og:image:height: 3742 og:image:alt: INDIA-CRIME-RAPE-TRANSPORT-UBER og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Banning Uber Won’t Make Delhi Women Any Safer, And It Could Make Things Worse twitter:description: Decreasing access to alternative transportation is a short-term solution to the idea of masculinity that contributes to India's epidemic of sexual assault twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c682518ba491228/69876da9e53aba2a684d66cd/460096236.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Banning Uber Won’t Make Delhi Women Any Safer, And It Could Make Things Worse > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Days After Launch Uber Is Getting Sued By City of Portland [Watch (HLS stream): Days After Launch Uber Is Getting Sued By City of Portland](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ya1VbcCk.m3u8) (1:50)  _Published 2014-12-09. The city of Portland – one of the largest U.S. cities that Uber held off on going to – is suing the company and all around fighting Uber’s rollout._ by [Mallika Dutt](https://time.com/author/mallika-dutt/) ## Mallika Dutt Dec 9, 2014 6:37 PM UTC  Indian residents hold placards and chant slogans as they take part in a protest against the alleged rape of a passenger by a driver working for the Uber taxi company in New Delhi on December 7, 2014. Indian residents hold placards and chant slogans as they take part in a protest against the alleged rape of a passenger by a driver working for the Uber taxi company in New Delhi on December 7, 2014. STRDEL—AFP/Getty Images by [Mallika Dutt](https://time.com/author/mallika-dutt/) ## Mallika Dutt Dec 9, 2014 6:37 PM UTC Uber is not having a good month. As if [various already swirling controversies](http://time.com/3592098/uber-controversy/) weren’t enough, last Sunday an [Uber driver in Delhi](http://time.com/3622364/uber-rape-india/) was arrested two days after allegedly picking up a 26-year-old woman who booked a ride, taking her to a secluded area, and raping her. Delhi authorities have since banned Uber for not conducting adequate background checks on their drivers and not adhering to licensing rules. They have also banned all other app-based cab service providers in Delhi. This is commendably a swift and decisive action, especially in a city and country under high pressure and bright spotlights when it comes to such attacks on women. But banning Uber and other app-based cab services hardly means the problem is solved. In reality, it’s a quick fix—one that could even make matters worse by limiting the options available to women who already feel under siege. According to a recent [Safe Cities Delhi Programme](http://www.icrw.org/publications/safe-cities-free-violence-against-women-and-girls-baseline-finding-safe-cities-delhi-pr) report based on research conducted by the International Center for Research on Women, 92% of Delhi’s women have experienced some form of sexual violence in public spaces in their lifetime. _This_ is the problem. Of course, Uber needs to improve its own operations in countless ways, starting with improved screening and background checks, and should be held accountable for the actions of its drivers. But Uber did not cause this problem. Uber is just one of the many places and spaces in which violence against women presents itself. The problem is men who sexually harass and assault women. The problem is current concepts of masculinity that lead to the impunity and tolerance underlying the epidemic of sexual harassment and rape of women in public spaces. And for this problem to be adequately addressed, the government needs to create and implement a comprehensive set of measures that has zero tolerance for sexual harassment and sexual assault of women. The quick decision to ban Uber is important in that it sends a message to all companies operating in this space that they need to follow regulations with seriousness. However, it is already unsafe for women to get around in Delhi. The metro has separate compartments for women—but what do they do when they step off the train? That’s partly why Uber and other private cab companies are in demand in the first place. _Decreasing_ access to multiple modes of alternative transportation for women is a short-term and limited solution. Rather than further limiting the options available to women, how about _increasing_ women’s safety not only by enforcing regulations and providing safer modes of operation, but by also increasing the number of men who hold themselves and others accountable for their behavior and actions? That’s where we could shine a light back on Uber. Last month, when a journalist accused Uber of “sexism and misogyny,” a senior executive reportedly suggested launching a personal smear [campaign](http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-digging-up-dirt-on-journalists) against her; he also [reportedly said](http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/uber-executive-suggests-digging-up-dirt-on-journalists) at a party that taxi drivers are far more likely to assaulted women than Uber drivers. Those are not comments made by someone who is holding himself or his company, or his company culture, accountable. The rape in Delhi provides an opportunity for Uber, and other business owners, to step up and talk about how they will use their positions to stand for safety and equality. This is a chance for all companies to be part of the solution in making violence against women unacceptable. We need to address sexual harassment, rape, and all forms of violence against women by demanding accountability from our institutions, our communities, and our peers. Arresting one man, banning one company in one city, and calling the problem solved is simply not enough. The government needs to provide, increase, and ensure safety measures for all transportation companies. Beyond that, the government needs to provide, increase, and ensure ways for women to move around safely in the first place. Now let’s look at culture change and mindset. In its newest baseline measures of sexual harassment, Breakthrough, a human rights organization, reports that up to 98% of women and girls say they don’t feel completely safe in public areas\[link to this report?\]. This means only 2% of women feel safe at all. We need 100% of women to feel 100% safe. This will take more than banning a company or deleting an app. This will take more than the [death sentence meted out to the men who raped and killed](http://ideas.time.com/2013/09/13/gang-rapists-sentenced-to-death-but-indias-denial-will-continue/) Jyothi in the now infamous Delhi gang rape two years ago. The best deterrent to sexual harassment and rape is culture change: bold, steady, and persistent challenges to the norms and biases that enable and excuse violence against women. There is some movement in the right direction. Some 40,000 rickshaw drivers have received training on women’s safety and display stickers on their rickshaw saying, “This responsible rickshaw respects and protects women.” That’s not just a practical response; that’s a public statement for women’s rights. And recent protests in New Delhi in support of the rape survivor show that people are taking and demanding concrete action and accountability. Indeed—especially since the Delhi gang rape—more and more men and boys have been standing with women to call for change. We need even more. We need to dismantle the biases that blame or hold women responsible for the dangers they encounter. We need to make violence and discrimination against women socially and culturally unacceptable, in India and beyond—not just in the spectacular cases with seemingly easy solutions, but in our everyday lives, streets, and interactions. When women are truly safe, we will all get where we need to go. _Mallika Dutt is president and CEO of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization based in India and the U.S. that works to make violence and discrimination against women and girls unacceptable._ ## Transcript After the God view controversy, and execs considering blackmail, Uber is at least facing a problem in Portland, Oregon, that it's used to. The City of Portland, one of the largest US cities that Uber held off on going to, is suing the company and all around fighting Uber's roll out. [ NOISE ] [ MUSIC ] Uber just launched in Portland, December 5th, despite consistent and strong local government resistance. We'd rather just you carve out a special deal for us and I said no, that's unacceptable. Steve Novick, Portland's city commissioner has claimed he will throw the book at Uber if it continues operating in his city illegally. Threatening major fines for any Uber drivers caught picking up passengers. $ 1, 000 on the first offense, $ 2, 500 on the second offense and $ 5, 000 on third offense. The city's lawsuit also comes with a cease and desist letter demanding Uber drivers stop operating in the city and that Uber stop using this Portland, Oregon sign in its advertising. But threatening letters and finger wagging from city government is par for the course for Uber, from Washington DC. We don't fight with anyone. To London, England. Uber can stick it. Uber faces backlash where ever it goes, but only a few places have actually managed to stop the company from operating. In Nevada a judge recently issued a temporary injunction on Uber for the entire state. In the month Uber was operating, almost 50 Uber cars were impounded by state officials. And abroad, Spain as well as New Delhi, India have banned the car service. A judge in Spain issued the ruling Tuesday claiming, Drivers lack the administrative authorisation to carry out the job, and the activity they carry out constitutes unfair competition. 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