Sexual Assault and Violence on Intercity Bus

"We will not stay silent, you will be ashamed'

Click to read the article in Turkish

"I called the customer services hotline of Nilüfer tourism company. While I was telling them about the sexual assault, the assistant of the driver attacked me. Other passengers didn't say anything until I was physically attacked.

"The assistant of the driver battered me to such an extent that I dropped the phone on the floor and all these voices and noise were recorded thanks to that phone call. When I took the phone again, the voice on the other side was asking me 'Are you OK?'"

Y.O., a student of Ankara University, got on the intercity bus of Nilüfer tourism company to go from İstanbul to Ankara at the night of October 21. According to her accounts, she was sexually assaulted and subjected to violence.

Speaking to bianet, Y.O. has recounted the incident as follows:

"I got on the bus in Esenler [Bus Terminal]. The charger at the seat no. 32 where I sat was not working. He told me 'You can come to the seat at the back, it is empty throughout the journey.' And I sat on that seat.

"I fell asleep with my head facing the window. At some point, I felt that something was continuously touching my breast. I was straightening up the collar of my jumper, thinking that it was slipping. Then, I understood what was going on. All of the lights were turned off when I woke up.

'He defended himself, saying "I have a girlfriend"'

"When I turned my back, the assistant of the driver got on the other seat right away and pretended to sleep. I started punching him and shouted. Everyone was asleep. The person closest to me was sitting three seats away.

"I said, 'He harassed me, he sexually assaulted me.' I went to the driver. First, he geared down as if stopping the car. But, he did not stop it. And his assistant was defending himself, saying 'I have a girlfriend.'

"I called the customer services hotline of Nilüfer tourism company. While I was telling them about the sexual assault, the assistant attacked me. Other passengers did not say anything until I was physically attacked.

'Assistant of the driver did not get off'

"The assistant of the driver said that he did not harass me, just touched me for three or four times. He responded, 'Are you stupid or something? You should have warned me the first time.'

"When we arrived in Dudullu, we all got off the bus. Men got off, everyone was listening to the assistant of the driver, women were on the bus as well. No one was listening to me. The representative of Nilüfer tourism company also came, but s/he did not listen to me, either. And I said that if the driver's assistant did not get off the bus, I would not get on. But they did not have him get off the bus. The police told me to 'file a criminal complaint in Ankara.' And I called the police somewhere near Ankara.

"When we arrived in Ankara Bus Terminal, police were already waiting for us. They came from the Çiftlik Şehit Tugay Can Kızılırmak Police Station. I told them what happened. They took my deposition."

Y.O. also received a medical report documenting the battery of driver's assistant. The report has also been added to the complaint file. (EMK/SD)