Text 37. A. Women-only train carriages

Trains can become very busy when people are travelling to work or trying to get back home at the end of the day. Sometimes passengers bump into each other by accident. However, some women have been harassed on a train so some countries have introduced women-only carriages as Rob and Alice discuss.

This week's question: Can you guess which of these countries have female-only carriages already?

a) Canada b) Japan c) Egypt d) Germany

Listen out for the answer in the programme.

A lice: Today we’re talking about female-only carriages on trains.

Rob: These are train carriages which are only for women. We don’t have them in the UK.

Alice: No we don’t – but there are quite a few countries which do have female-only carriages for commuters. It’s to help women from being bothered while they are travelling – to stop sexual harassment. Can you guess which of these countries have female-only carriages, Rob? I’ll give you a choice of 4. Canada, Japan, Egypt or Germany.

Rob: I’ll have a think and tell you at the end of the programme. Why is this in the news?

Alice: It’s in the news because women in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, will now be able to travel in female-only train carriages. Here’s part of a report by the BBC’s Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta.

Extract 1:

The trains to the suburbs are always packed with commuters trying to get from their offices in the city back to their homes. Female passengers have been complaining that some male commuters are taking advantage. By introducing women’s only carriages, the state-run rail operator wants to put a stop to sexual harassment.

Alice: The company that operates the trains in this part of Jakarta say they have received lots of complaints about men taking advantage of women. Taking advantage – that’s a polite way of saying some men were touching women or banging into them on purpose on crowded trains.

Rob: It is officially called sexual harassment.

Alice: The state-run rail operator – the train company owned by the government – said that women were avoiding packed trains to avoid sexual harassment. So they have created women only train carriages.

Rob: They have even designed the train carriages to appeal to women apparently.

Alice: That’s right. The carriages are made in Japan and have brightly covered pink seats. They’re easy to spot.

Rob: They’re easy to spot – they stand out, they’re easy to see from a distance.

Alice: This woman, 22 year old Yanti a student in Jakarta said she hopes the carriages will help stop sexual harassment on crowded trains.

Extract 2

(Voice over in English): Hopefully this service will be able to reduce the number of women who become targets of sexual harassment on the trains. Sometimes there are men who bump and push into us on purpose, and they take advantage of the cramped conditions. But there must be other ways to stop sexual harassment. We have to try and raise awareness about the issue as well.

Alice: So Yanti said the carriages are part – but not all of the solution - to prevent sexual harassment on the train.

Rob: Yes – she said that it’s important to raise awareness about the issue of sexual harassment as well.

Alice: To raise awareness – that’s a useful phrase – you often hear it when people want to talk about difficult issues – issues which are difficult to discuss.

Rob: We also heard the phrase taking advantage again.

Alice: Yanti said that some men take advantage of the cramped conditions on the train to bump or push into women on purpose.

Rob: On purpose – that means you do something deliberately. The carriages are full of people – they’re very cramped.

Alice: He did it on purpose, she did it on purpose – it wasn’t a mistake, they did it deliberately. Sexual harassment is a difficult issue to talk about. Some countries have laws which make sexual harassment illegal – especially in the workplace. What is the official definition of sexual harassment Rob?

Rob: The United Nations Development Fund for Women defines sexual harassment as "unwelcome or unwanted verbal, non-verbal, physical or visual conduct based on sex or of a sexual nature; the acceptance or rejection of which affects an individual's employment.

Alice: Verbal means spoken. So sexual harassment can be language too – not just physical touching. Unwelcome verbal, non-verbal, physical or visual conduct. Visual – means it could be a look from somebody that is unwanted as well.

Rob: That definition of sexual harassment is also just about women at work. But it can happen in other places too.

Alice: Yes – and remember it’s not just women who can be sexually harassed. There are also many legal cases where men say they have been sexually harassed at work or in other places too.

Rob: Men can be victims of sexual harassment too.

Alice: So Rob have you thought about the answer to my question. Which of these countries already have female-only train carriages? Canada, Japan, Egypt or Germany.

Rob: I’ll have a guess. Is it Canada and Japan?

Alice: The answers are Japan and Egypt. Female-only train carriages were first introduced in Japan in the year 2000 during the busy end-of-year festive season when lots of people had been celebrating. And you can also find female-only train carriages in Cairo, Egypt, Brazil, Malaysia and Taiwan. So before we go Rob shall we review some of today’s language?

Rob: Yes of course. female-only carriages, commuters, sexual harassment, taking advantage, state-run rail operator, easy to spot, to raise awareness, cramped, on purpose, verbal

Alice: Well that’s all we’ve got time for today. Thanks for joining us and see you next time. Bye!

Vocabulary from the programme

female-only=something which is only for women

carriages=sections in a train with seats for passengers

commuters=people who travel to and from work

sexual harassment=unwelcome and unwanted touch, look or conversation that is sexual in nature

taking advantage=treating a person unfairly, particularly if the person is in a vulnerable situation

state-run rail operator=train company run by the government

easy to spot=stand out; easy to see from a distance

to raise awareness=to try and ensure people know about something, particularly if it is a sensitive issue

cramped=small space not really big enough to fit everyone who wants to be there

on purpose=deliberately; whatever happened was definitely not an accident

verbal=when something is spoken or said

B. Indonesia launches women-only train service By Karishma Vaswani BBC News, Jakarta

S ome women complain that men take advantage of the cramped conditions on the trains

Women-only train carriages have been launched in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in an attempt to prevent sexual harassment on public transport.

The state-run train operator is running two new carriages for its female passengers on one busy commuter route.

The service has been introduced after a series of complaints of sexual harassment from women who travel on Jakarta's trains and buses.

The carriages are easy to spot - with brightly covered pink seats.

It is the afternoon rush hour at one of Jakarta's main railway stations. An announcement is telling passengers how much longer they have to wait.

The trains to the suburbs are always packed, with commuters trying to get from their offices in the city back to their homes.

Female passengers have been complaining that some male commuters are taking advantage.

The state-run rail operator wants to put a stop to sexual harrassment.

For Yanti, a 22-year-old student in Jakarta, the women-only carriages are part, but not all of the solution. "Sometimes on the train there are men who bump and push into us on purpose, and they take advantage of the cramped conditions on the trains.

"But there must be other ways to stop sexual harassment. We have to try and raise awareness about the issue as well," she says.

The service has been introduced on the busy Jakarta to Bogor route and the train operator says it will launch more women-only carriages if the experiment is effective.

Text 38. Citizen Journalism

Caption: Citizen journalism was prominent during recent political protests in the Middle East

Stephen and Rob talk about citizen journalism, where people who aren't trained journalists report or blog their experiences. Citizen journalism has been a significant source of news in Egypt and Libya during recent protests.

This week's question: Which of these six countries, according to figures from internet world stats, has the largest percentage of people using the internet? South Korea, Japan, the US, the UK, India or China.

Listen out for the answer at the end of the programme!

Stephen: Hello, I'm Stephen.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Stephen: And this is 6 Minute English! This week we’re talking about citizen journalism.

Rob: Citizen journalism – that’s when people who aren’t trained journalists write or report about their experiences or use social media, like Facebook or Twitter, to broadcast their messages.

Stephen: Over the last few weeks, media companies have published a large number of videos, photos, phone calls and blogs from citizen journalists in countries where protests have been taking place, and there aren’t many – or any - traditional journalists. But as usual, I’m going to start with a question for you, Rob.

Rob: OK, I’m ready.

Stephen: Which of these six countries, according to figures from internet world stats, has the largest percentage of people using the internet?

Rob: The largest percentage of people who use the internet. OK. Have got you any clues?

Stephen: Well, your six countries are South Korea, Japan, the US, the UK, India or China.

Rob: Hmm…let me think. I would say South Korea.

Stephen: Well, I won’t tell you the answer just yet. We can find out at the end of the programme. So let’s talk about citizen journalism. Could citizen journalists ever replace traditional journalists? Peter Barron, the Director of External Relations at Google, says there has been a massive democratisation in access to information.

Rob: A massive democratisation – that's when people all over the world can access information on the internet, and use the same tools to publish information themselves.