Safe at the Wheel? Security issues for female taxi drivers

Westmarland, N.; Anderson, J.

Abstract

Women entering the workforce as taxi drivers face the same security concerns as male drivers; however, they additionally face gender-dominated2 forms of victimization. The first part of this article reports empirical research showing that female and male drivers report similar levels of physical attack and verbal abuse. However, women were significantly more likely to be sexually harassed (p < 0.001) and to consider leaving their jobs due to violence at work (p < 0.001). Women were also significantly more likely than male drivers to report physical attacks to the police (p < 0.05). Male customers were the group most likely to be violent towards taxi drivers, regardless of the driver's gender. The second part of the article reports interviews with female taxi drivers in order to consider implications for security. Security devices discussed include two-way radio, partition screens, in-car cameras, weapons and indirect forms of security.

Citation

Westmarland, N., & Anderson, J. (2001). Safe at the Wheel? Security issues for female taxi drivers. Security Journal, 14(2), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.5555/sj.2001.14.2.29

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2001-04
• Deposit Date: Mar 21, 2007
• Journal: Security Journal
• Print ISSN: 0955-1662
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-4645
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 29-40
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5555/sj.2001.14.2.29
• Keywords: Violence, Work, Taxi, Women, Security.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1587068
• Publisher URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/sj/journal/v14/n2/abs/8340080a.html