Jeremy Corbyn: A Theoretical Analysis

Undoubtedly, sexual assault is a significant issue with in society, with more than 1 in 5 women being victims of assault in the UK. In trains and stations alone, sexual offenses increased by 25 percent in the last year- the highest levels ever recorded. Therefor, Jeremy Corbyn’s suggestion, to tackle this issue, through the introduction of woman only carriages, has proved extremely controversial. Although, in theory, it would reduce assaults on trains, this suggestion does not only contain some major flaws, it also is an affront to gender equality. Jeremy Corbyn unveiled that he had the “intention…to make public transport safer for everyone”, after high rates of sexual harassments were recorded. It is his intention to insure that women will not have to “adapt their daily lives in order to avoid being harassed”, through the introduction of women only carriages. However, by introducing women only carriages, surely this would be a contradiction to the above statement, as only women would have the option of traveling differently and will end up adapting their routes anyways. Corbyn was clear that this was only a suggestion, and wanted the

A sexism campaigner took to twitter and claimed that this idea would “suggest harassment/violence is innate and inevitable so women’s responsibility to avoid”, conveying that Corbyn’s proposal would normalize, what is such an unacceptable matter. Furthermore, it is patronizing to both men and women. Women-only carriages would crystalize the prejudice within our society, that men are violent and aggressive. On the other hand women should not be treated as special cases, and be locked away from the perpetrators, essentially declaring that women will never be as equally safe as men within our society. The elimination of harassment will not be achieved through segregation; instead, the misogynistic ideas ingrained within society need to be made