Following several attacks on women in public transport in recent days, a petition is circulating on the internet in France calling for specific carriages reserved for women—and possibly children—on suburban trains and metros. It has already gathered several thousand signatures. The initiative may seem commendable: isn’t it a matter of protecting the most vulnerable, as in the days when society looked after widows and orphans? But those promoting this new initiative, convinced that they have found the ultimate remedy for rape and sexual assault and quick to stigmatise the evil male, are determined to ignore the root causes of female passengers’ unease.
