Uber reviews 141 rapes in 2020, at the same time as sexual assault incidents declined amid pandemic

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Uber reported 141 incidents of rape and 998 incidents of sexual assault total in 2020, even because the enterprise was crippled by the ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic and ridership plummeted, in accordance the corporate’s 2019-2020 U.S. Security Report launched Thursday.

Uber obtained 3,824 reviews of sexual assault and misconduct from 2019 to 2020, in line with the report, the second of its form.

That quantity is a 38% lower in comparison with the 5,981 incidents reported from 2017-2018, in line with firm information launched in 2019.

The decline got here on the similar time the nation locked down as a result of coronavirus disaster and journey was restricted to important journeys. In response to Uber’s information, there have been 1.4 billion U.S. journey reviews in 2019, that quantity sunk to 650 million in 2020 below the backdrop of the pandemic. 

“The change in price of sexual assault reviews over time could have been impacted by a lot of components, together with how the COVID-19 pandemic altered utilization of the platform in addition to Uber’s security and transparency efforts,” Uber stated within the report. “However every reported incident represents a harrowing lived expertise for the survivor. Even one report is one report too many.”

Listed here are among the extra startling statistics within the 78-page report:

  • 141 reviews of non-consensual sexual penetration, or rape, in 2020, down from 247 in 2019.
  • In 2020 there have been 998 incidents of sexual assault throughout 5 classes: non-consensual sexual penetration, non-consensual kissing of a sexual physique half, non-consensual touching of a sexual physique half, tried non-consensual sexual penetration, non-consensual kissing of a non-sexual physique half.
  • In 2019, there have been 2,826 incident reviews throughout the 5 classes.
  • Riders have been the accused get together 43% of the time in sexual assaults from 2019 to 2020, just like the 45% Uber’s 2017-2018 report.
  • Drivers, 56% of the time, have been the accused get together throughout the 5 classes of sexual assault.
  • Throughout 2019 and 2020, for rape, the survivor was the rider in 91% of incident reviews, the drivers have been survivors in 7%
  • Girls made up 81% of the survivors of rape, males comprised about 15% from 2019-2020, doubling from 7% reported in 2017 to 2018. 

Uber rolled out its first security report in 2019 after going through rising scrutiny on the heels of lawsuits from riders alleging they have been sexually assaulted by drivers. 

Within the Thursday report, the ride-sharing service stated in its dedication to security on the platform, drivers are given prison background checks — a mark that greater than 500,00 potential drivers failed within the 2019-2020 interval. 

Greater than 80,000 drivers have additionally been faraway from the app to this point because of steady prison and motorized vehicle checks, the report stated.

Uber touted rolling out sexual misconduct schooling for drivers on the platform and launching new product options akin to on-trip reporting — “which permits riders to discreetly report a non-emergency security subject throughout a visit” — to enhance rider security.

The experience sharing service additionally supplies a Survivor Assets Hotline to assist survivors who report sexual assault incidents on the Uber app, it stated within the report.

Marlene Lenthang is a breaking information reporter for NBC Information Digital.