What is the reality of sexual assaults committed on the Bordeaux transport network, TBM? In a video shot on September 1 in the Bordeaux tramway and entrusted to 20 Minutes TVwe see a man touching his genitals.
“I was on the tram, which stopped at a station (…) and this gentleman entered” testifies the woman who filmed this video. “I noticed that he had a strange gesture,” she continues. He put his hand on his genitals. I said to myself, “this is not possible, I’m going to take my phone and I’m going to film it”, I think he realized that and that’s when he stopped… I I was afraid that he might walk up to the woman he was attracted to and touch her. »
37 acts of “contact sexual violence”
This is not the first case of the year that has come to light in this way. On June 24, a frotteur and exhibitionist was arrested on the tram in Cenon, when he had rubbed shoulders with a female passenger who immediately walked away. He then showed his penis to other passengers. On the evening of January 13, a man sat next to a 22-year-old woman in a tram on line D, Fondaudège district, and touched her inner thighs before insulting her.
Contacted by 20 minutes, Keolis Bordeaux Métropole (KBM) indicates that in 2022 – the latest official figures known – some 76 reports were sent to it. “51% of them concerned sexual violence without contact (harassment, outrage, etc.), or 39 incidents, and 49% concerned sexual violence with contact (touching, etc.), or 37 incidents,” specifies KBM management.
These reports could be made via the Angela system set up on the network since January 1, 2022. “This is a system allowing any person feeling insecure to obtain help using the name code “Angela” which can be addressed to staff at partner locations,” explains Keolis.
Some 320 emergency call terminals marked “Here, ask for Angela”, distributed among twenty tram trains, and 23 terminals located in ten stations (Victoire, Porte de Bourgogne, Stalingrad, Palais de Justice, Montaigne-Montesquieu, Gare Saint -Jean, Les Hangars, La Cité du Vin, Arts & Métiers and Quinconces) equip the network.
Post-clearance reports
“Teams in cars, motorbikes and even bicycles for the city center of Bordeaux crisscross the network daily, allowing rapid movement to the scene of incidents in less than 8 minutes” further assures Keolis.
Subsequent reports of acts of violence or harassment on the TBM network can also be reported to the agents in charge of security, by filling out a form with as much information as possible, via this link.