A central German regional railway is launching a special women and children only area for their trains, a move which has triggered controversy.
The announcement from the central German Regiobahn line came earlier this week, with the network stating the new compartment on their Leipzig and Chemnitz would admit women and young children only.
To ensure maximum peace for those choosing to travel in that compartment not only would it be sandwiched between the service’s two quiet coaches, but it would also be next to the on-board office of the “customer service representative. Traditionally known as a train guard or ticket inspector, the company said “the local proximity to the customer service representative is chosen deliberately”.
Yet despite the recent mass sex-attacks in Germany, and the official advice to young women that the best thing to do is to keep groping migrant men “at arms length” to prevent rape, the railway denies the segregated trains has anything to do with sexual harassment.
This denial has caused lively debate and controversy on German social media, reports Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The launch of women’s only compartments puts Germany in a club of other nations who need to segregate the sexes on journeys including India, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt and Indonesia.
The suggestion of women’s only rail carriages was recently floated by British Labour Party leader and avid train enthusiast Jeremy Corbyn, who in contrast to Germany’s railway admitted it was to help combat harassment, as reported on by Breitbart London at the time.
Explaining the logic behind his idea, which was widely panned at the time, Mr. Corbyn said: “It is unacceptable that many women and girls adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed on the street, public transport, and in other public places from the park to the supermarket.
“This could include taking longer routes to work, having self-imposed curfews or avoiding certain means of transport”.
Remarking he thought a solution to this could be women’s only carriages, Mr. Corbyn said: “piloting this at times and modes of transport where harassment is reported most frequently would be of interest”.