While the figures for sexual assaults are relatively low, the need for these carriages in this day and age has drawn debate on both sides.On one hand, the carriages would help women feel safer, especially if they finish work late or are unaccompanied. On the other hand, they send a message that women need to protect themselves against bad people, rather than focusing attention on the bad people who are assaulting women.A young woman spoke to the Daily Telegraph about the proposal and said, “I suspect if men are being drunk and obnoxious they ought to be stuck away in a separate carriage rather than limit women to the special carriage.
“I think we should lock up the potential perpetrators. Or keep them away from the women rather than the other way around.
“I get fairly wary of it being seen as we have to protect ourselves by excluding ourselves”.
In Japan they now have pink carriages after women were being groped on the country’s notoriously crowded services.
Earlier this morning on breakfast TV, male TV hosts particularly were outraged at the idea, with Today’s Bed Fordham saying he felt “really weird” about women needing to board a different carriage to get away from people like him.
On Channel 7, Gretel Killeen gave her two cents and questioned, “Why on earth should women be the ones hurled into one carriage to be protected if men are the issue?”
“Let women have the space”, she said, passionately.
It’s an interesting debate. Where do you stand on it? Should there be pink carriages? Or should men be the ones who should have a blue carriage?