Starting in 2023, passengers of SNCB (NMBS) who feel unsafe will be able to discreetly ask for help by texting the railway's permanent safety centre.
To better protect passengers and not provoke the person causing the feeling of unsafety, SNCB is working on a silent notification system which offers more discretion and convenience than the 0800 number. This currently puts passengers in contact with assistance when they feel unsafe.
The text message will be sent directly to the train company's permanent safety centre.
Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet also promised additional recruitment at Securail, the railway security service. By 2023, they aim to recruit 70 additional agents to reach a total of 605 security agents.
However, Brussels MP Lotte Stoops (Groen) says it is a good first step, but she wants to go much further. In a press release on Thursday, Stoops stated that Groen wants to make Brussels public transport safer with a general digital alarm button, the use of active witnesses and an inter-federal action plan.
Active witnesses
"Sexual harassment on public transport does not only occur on the train but also on buses, trams and metros, in the stations and at the stops, which is why regional authorities, public transport companies and law enforcement must work together across borders."
According to figures from Plan International, 70% of harassment witnesses in Brussels do not respond. Stoops asked for active witnesses to be given a structural and permanent role. "When people witness harassment, they often don't know how to react," Stoops explained in the press release. "That's a missed opportunity. Providing them with the right tools so that they can take responsibility is a huge gain for everyone's safety."
Due to the multiculturalism and multilinguism of the capital, Stoops urged the exploration of bystander awareness methods in multilingual and even nonlingual ways. "For example, a gesture symbol could be agreed upon. This symbol would then have to be visibly present in every bus, tram, metro, train and in every station and every stop."
