MBTA: Campaign increases groping reports, arrests on T

seems a bit odd...on the one hand i'm glad they're doing something about it, if only for clearly repeat offenders. but t's get cramped and busy in the morning and during afternoon commutes, so who's to say bumping into someone a few times because the driver is a moron and keeps slamming on the brakes is "groping"? this will turn into yet another indication of our police-state society, where, like in commie-era russia, neighbors are expected to tell the police about dissidents so they can be carted off to prison.

i'm not in favor of groping, but i'm sure one or two folks have been unfairly charged, if not put in prison, already - by women who think they're being groped when they're not.

I rode the green line at rush hour for three years-mashed up against total strangers- really REALLY tightly (there are not nearly enough north station bound green line trains at rush hour). How can you tell the difference between someone rubbing up against you in a gratuitous manner and someone who is just squashed there like the half-million other people. I am all for equality and fairness- but maybe some people are just a little too sensitive.

Good thing these victims have been told it's OK to report the crimes! Why were they not before?? Geez!

I'm glad the T is taking a stand against this behavior. It's about time. But I am wondering about the very crowded conditions on the train. Could this account for some of it? I've had rather large people squeeze next to me in seats and they were practically sitting in my lap due to their size.........I felt like I was having my personal space violated. I think we have to be careful not to yell fire in a crowded theater here. When I commute, the train is busting at the seams.....perhaps the T needs to offer more cars per train to deal with this overcrowding and thus the problems with the perverts will be easier to spot.

Wow, 65 women had their butt grabbed or even worse, some man press against them in rush hour. What a crime against humanity! We must use the already overstretched MBTA budget to fund a marketing (I mean "awareness") campaign to stop this threat to society!

This is an unspeakable crime, with life altering consequences for large amounts of the population!!!! I'll gladly suffer through more T service deterioration if it means that funds will be diverted to solve this pressing issue!

"EMPOWER" the "survivors" of this "sexual assault" "crime"!!!!

I took the train from Riverside to Fenway (and back) for the Sox game yesterday. We were packed into the train like a bunch of sardines. I got up close and personal with all sorts of people. I was rubbed against a bunch of times. I mean really, there's a marked difference between this and some schmuck copping a feel of a butt or a boob (is the Globe going to let that word post??). If the train is packed though, how can you tell. Based on the number of times I was "touched" yesterday, at least a dozen of my train mates should have been cited.

How about an attractive women-only subway car? The other cars could be for men, old people, and ugly girls no one wants to touch.

Just wait until the MBTA reduces the number of trains running, making ALL trains more crowded - your statistics should shoot through the roof.

65 "incidents" out of the 100's of thousands of riders and millions every year?? Sounds like there's really not too much going on...

I'm very pleased to see BARCC involved in this campaign. It's important to have a person or organization with expertise involved in campaigns.

What's the difference between someone groping and someone accidentally brushing up against you? That's like the difference between flirting and sexual harassment. When you're squashed, you're not usually touching people inappropriately. Additionally, many people who grope on the T do so when it's not THAT crowded.

Finally, what's very important is that the MBTA is taking a strong stance against this form of violence. Refusing to tolerate this behavior is a major step in ending it. People who have been groped on the T, by the way, are not being oversensitive. Groping is a form of sexual violence, and I'd put it between sexual harassment and sexual assault on the spectrum of violence. Claiming that people are overreacting is a way in which we minimize and normalize violence. If anything, too many people are desensitized.

FJ has a good point. I think any normal person would be appalled by real groping, one has to wonder how many people are going to be falsely accused by overly sensitive individuals on an overly crowded train.

Everyone has to remember the police are not your friends. They simply do not care about you being mashed into an overcrowded car. They do care about incidental bumping/touching when a driver slams on the brakes. They do not care if you are guilty or innocent. That is not their problem, it is you and your attorney's problem to solve. Their job is to make arrests and generate statistics to justify their overpaid positions. Massachusetts has turned into a socialist police state and it is very scary indeed.

what is wrong with you people?
Obviously there is a big difference between someone being pushed up against you on a crowded T and someone fondling you. Anyone can tell the difference, and that's why there were ONLY about 65 complaints of groping in a whole YEAR - because these were actually incidents of groping. If people were just reporting someone pressed against them during rush hour every day, there would be thousands of reports.
Get a grip, and realize that groping on the T does in fact happen. Do you actually think it's out of the question that it would? It's a serious thing and the T shoudl address it.

Oh, please, there is a difference between someone trying to get in or out of the train and someone who grabs or repeatedly runs their hands over an area, especially an area that ordinarily be brushed up against on a train. In the case of someone grinding their privates into you, you can tell because instead of saying "Excuse me" and moving along, the motion is repeated. No one is going to be prosecuted for squeezing into a train.

You can get confused between trains being crowded and intentional groping. You can even be groped sitting down! This happened to me on the Green Line once, when I was sitting in one of the single seats. Some creep was rubbing his "tackle" into my arm. At first I thought it was just because the trolley was crowded, but then we got to Government Ctr. and the car emptied out. Plenty of seats now, but Creepo was still glued to my arm. Yuck! I got up and moved to the other end of the car.

I have been riding the T twice a day for 10 years.
Bottom line, we are packed in like sardines. Almost daily I am squished inbetween 2 people so tighly it is not uncommon to feel as though the man behind me has his penis in my hip. No joke.....those of you out there that ride the T often know what I'm talking about. If you want to get home, you have no choice but to jam yourself on there smooshed against people. I get violated on a daily basis. It's par for the course. So I'm not surprised people say they are being groped. Nope, honey your're just riding the T.

Would be nice if the Globe wrote a story about the men and women who enjoy riding crowded trains.

Ammmm...on what planet is 48 to 65 a 74% increase?

For all the negative repsonders... I feel sorry for the women in your families. I hope they are never sexually assualted b/c from your posts here I can tell that it would be there fault and that it's not really a big deal.

Most ppl can differentiate between groping nd a crowded train.

How very nice to see that ignorant attitudes haven't changed. Women must be hysterically wrong to think they are being groped because a train is "packed". They must be imagining it, right, because they certainly can't tell the difference between being in a crowded train and being groped. And, oh yeah, when a woman is victimized, nothing is more enjoyable for her than the hours and hours she has to take out of her life to report the incident to the police, fill out paperwork, and then have to explain it over and over again to various detectives, friends and family, only to find out that what people really believe is that she is a hysterical female.

Sounds like many of these comments are from perps or perp wannabes. Disgusting.

Women, if you are being groped and report it, know that there are those of us out here who support you, regardless of what you see here.

Photo taking in the T was prohibited after 9/11 and now it's encouraged because the T can't secure itself or provide adequate trains to prevent sardine can cars. If you see something, say something. If you feel someone, say something. If a train is late, just stand there. Soon they will be giving out free T Passes to anyone willing to drive the train to the next stop.

I was waiting on the platform for the green line several years ago and some pushed himself up against a young women in front and to the side of me. He took off as she turned around and she blamed me because I was near her. The whole thing happened so fast I didn't realize what was happening until he was gone. you could tell that he does this often. Be careful to not blame the wrong guy, not all men are idiots and some of us are just going to work.

"Wow, 65 women had their butt grabbed or even worse, some man press against them in rush hour. What a crime against humanity! We must use the already overstretched MBTA budget to fund a marketing (I mean "awareness") campaign to stop this threat to society!

This is an unspeakable crime, with life altering consequences for large amounts of the population!!!! I'll gladly suffer through more T service deterioration if it means that funds will be diverted to solve this pressing issue!

"EMPOWER" the "survivors" of this "sexual assault" "crime"!!!!"

Spoken like someone who doesn't know the difference between flirting and rape.

having been groped on the train, (yes, he actually stuck his hand up my dress and fondled my bum,) i see nothing wrong with this campaign. Awareness is key and there is no harm in knowing how to report such incidents.

SABEND:

I recommend that you expand your horizons beyond Cambridge and your liberal/feminist circles if you think this is "violence". Some perspective on the world may help you.

Posts 1, 2, 3, 5, and 9, you guys are ignorant. Yes, there is often contact, unavoidable contact when trains are super crowded. But there are also sick individuals who cross way over the line by grabbing onto another's body parts or rubbing their genitals against them (a perversion called "frotterism"). If it ever happened to you, you would know the difference. It's a form of sexual harassment, and it's very difficult to police. Plus, if 65 cases were actually reported, there were probably hundreds more cases that were not reported.

What a complete waste of taxpayer money. As always people should be aware of their surroundings and expect when riding a public transportation system that god forbid somebody touch a part of their body whether or not by accident. Oh an poster RED I feel very bad for your husband to have to listen to your feminist rant constantly I'm sure if he hasn't already he is considering a divorce. The real issue is men and women not standing up for themselves, if someone groped me and I knew it was intentional I would likely brutalize them right there on the train. I think that would be example enough.

This just proves how clueless the MBTA is. Why not just add a couple trains around rush hour times and this groping would be averted. Not allowing perverts to grope against someone. THE MBTA will always remain clueless until management is fired and new people are re-hired. here is another idea. Why doesn't each big dog ride each line one day a week for an hour start to finish so they can see potential problems and come up with fixes for instance people not paying to get on the train I see this 50 times each morning on the B line at every stop. 2) adding a 2nd train car to trains from 6 PM to 730PM Have you ever tried to get on a t car @ Hynes when there is 400 people trying to get on a car that already has 400 people on it. Learn how to operate your company properaly and you will become profitable. This could only be noticed by someone who iss in tune with their riders or at least in tune with their ridership problems. 3) Groping situation and compaigning for this to end. I wonder how many million the T spent on this ad campaign. What will it take for the MBTA to realize they spend all their money on the dumbest things. They might as well take next years budget and bring it down to foxwoods and put it on Red or Black to see if they will have enough to pay their debts. If Daniel Grasbaukus reads this I am sure he will contemplate this last idea because you know what it is less of a gamble than giving the money to the MBTA

The poster shows why this is another Democratic hare-brained idea. That girl looks like every person on the "D" line during a morning commute---the MBTA packs us in like cattle cars heading to the stockyards. That's not groping, that's a daily commute. Do you think any of us want to smell somebody's sweaty pits? PUT MORE TRAINS ON THE TRACK. I wonder what the maximum legal capacity per car is on these trains because the MBTA is ripping us all off with high fares and crappy service. The MBTA would rather save money for the bloated salaries and pensions of its workers than spend a few bucks to run MORE cars.