Mexico City has launched a new experiment aimed at reducing physical harrassment of women on its crowded transit system: women-only buses and trains.
Single-gender transit isn't really a new idea. Women-only subway cars and buses have appeared in recent years everywhere from India and Brazil to Japan and Egypt.
Is this an idea ripe for importation? I take D.C. public transit very frequently, and I don't really perceive that this is a huge problem. On the other hand, I'm not a woman, so I really can't say.
On The Nation's blog (thanks, DCist!), blogger Jessica Valenti brings up one potential unintended consequence:
What happens when a woman is groped - or worse - in a train car that isn't women-only? Will she be blamed for not taking advantage of the "safe" space provided? (After all, women are all too used to being blamed when it comes to assault, questioned as to why they were out on their own/wearing a short skirt/drinking.)
If we're going to make women safe, let's make them safe everywhere - not just in designated areas.
What do you think? Do women-only buses sound like a good idea for U.S. cities? Or do they merely skirt (ahem) the real issue?
Photo via Flickr, from Daniel Merle
Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
E-mail: zpatton@governing.com 
Written and compiled by staff writers and editors, GOVERNING View is an on-the-ground, and sometimes behind-the-scenes, look at the topics we're covering in print and online. From notes on what's up in statehouses, county courthouses and city halls, to encounters with people, places and things, GOVERNING View is a window into the side of state and local government you don't always see.
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