Slashdot Mirror
Uber Commits $5 Million To Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Prevention (gizmodo.com)
Uber announced on Sunday that it's taking new steps toward preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, starting with a $5 million donation to its partners -- Raliance, National Network to End Domestic Violence, No More, Women of Color Network, Casa de Esperanza, A Call to Men, and The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs -- along with an employee training program and in-app messaging to educate riders and drivers. Gizmodo reports: "As a result of this ongoing collaboration we have begun to make important changes internally and will commit to use Uber's scope and visibility to help drive awareness, education, and prevention of sexual assault and domestic violence to millions globally," said Uber's announcement. Uber wrote on its blog that its technology "enhances safety for riders and drivers in ways that weren't possible before such as GPS tracking, the ability to share a trip with family and friends, and 24/7 support through the app." But the company has failed to adopt measures like more rigorous driver background checks, despite urging by lawmakers. The ride-sharing service left Austin altogether last year (along with Lyft) because it refused to fingerprint its drivers. Uber has argued that mandated fingerprinting is too burdensome. Advocates for fingerprinting argue that it helps ensure rider safety.
They're not fixing anything, they're throwing money at one or more organizations for the sake of virtue signalling. The problem is governments let uber and their like get away with the "we're not a taxi company guv' really we're not!" bullshit far too long instead of requiring the same things that taxi companies have been required to do for decades because of the same issues. Background checks, vehicle maintenance checks every 6mo, basic first aid requirements, etc.
But just think if all these issues were prominent and got equal play. We'd be seeing ads like: "women don't grope men in the club" "sticking your hand down his pants because you're drunk, and he's hot, doesn't equal consent." Ask your local male police officer who works a club as on-duty security how many times they're groped and assaulted by women and are expected to just shrug it off. 20-50 times a night is pretty common.