Lyft Records Over 4,000 Sexual Assault Cases Over 3 Years

In its long-promised first safety report showing the extent of the safety problems on its app, Lyft collected more than 4,000 reports of sexual assault dating from 2017 through 2019, reports the Washington Post. The safety report tabulated five categories of sexual assault in an effort to make clear the extent of the dangers on the ride-hailing app. It included data for nonconsensual kissing or touching of sexual body parts; nonconsensual kissing of nonsexual body parts; and attempted and nonconsensual sexual penetration.

In total, Lyft said there were 4,158 reports of sexual assault on the app from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019; this included 360 reports of rape. Lyft has pledged to improve its safety practices regarding drivers over the years, noting the issue is a work in progress and that the overwhelming majority of rides ended without incident. Of the five subcategories of sexual assault defined in the report, the most common on a yearly basis was nonconsensual touching of a sexual body part. Lyft collected 598 such reports for 2017, 661 for 2018 and 1,041 for 2019. Lyft said it does not automatically report such incidents to law enforcement, deferring to the wishes of the person who makes the report. The company provides support services, it said, including information on how to reach organizations providing counseling and crisis intervention, in addition to emotional support and ways to reach law enforcement.