B.C. tribunal allows complaint alleging sexual harassment on HandyDART bus to go to hearing
CTV
A B.C. tribunal is allowing a complaint alleging a HandyDART driver sexually harassed a passenger to proceed.
A B.C. tribunal is allowing a complaint alleging a HandyDART driver sexually harassed a passenger to proceed.
The decision to allow the complaint to go ahead, published by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal last week, said a unnamed woman who uses a wheelchair claimed a HandyDART driver made inappropriate sexual comments and "invited her to sexual contact" in October 2019.
HandyDART is a service offered by some transit operators, like B.C. Transit and TransLink, that provides door-to-door transportation for people requiring mobility assistance. In this instance, B.C. Transit has a contract with another local transit company to operate HandyDART in the unspecified community.
The decision explained once the complainant gets on the bus, she is locked in and can't move until someone unlocks her chair and unbuckles her seatbelt for her.
"She submits that she was trapped into a secured wheelchair and was unable to move without assistance while on the bus," tribunal member Grace Chen wrote in her decision.
"She says she was vulnerable to the harassment due to her disability, and was trapped on the bus with the driver because of her disability."
According to the tribunal's decision, the complainant filed a grievance to B.C. Transit after the incident and was interviewed by a general manager. The tribunal heard that police investigated the incident, and decided no charges would be laid.
