More Than 3K Sexual Assaults Were Reported in 2018: Uber

Passengers and drivers were victims, company says
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 5, 2019 7:00 PM CST
Uber Releases Its Count of Sexual Assaults Reported: 3K
Uber headquarters in San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

More than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported during US Uber rides in 2018, the company said in a long-awaited safety report. That figure includes 229 rapes across the company's 1.3 billion rides. Uber noted that drivers and riders were both attacked, and that some assaults occurred between riders, the AP reports. In 2017, the company said 2,936 sexual assaults were reported. Uber bases its numbers on reports from riders and drivers — meaning the actual numbers could be much higher. Sexual assaults commonly go unreported. "I suspect many people will be surprised at how rare these incidents are; others will understandably think they're still too common," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tweeted. "Some people will appreciate how much we’ve done on safety; others will say we have more work to do. They will all be right."

Uber and competitor Lyft have faced a backlash for not doing enough to protect the safety of its riders and drivers. Dozens of women are suing Lyft, claiming the company should have done more to protect them from driver assaults. A Connecticut woman sued Uber last month, claiming she was sexually assaulted by her driver. Uber's safety report is the first of its kind, the company said in a tweet. The reported assaults ranged from unwanted touching and kissing to rape, per NPR. The number of reports could increase in future years, Uber said, if more people are encouraged to report sexual assault. (London sent Uber home.)

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