The National Council for Women is keeping a close eye on the repeated accidents over the past period in which several girls were harassed by drivers of cars belonging to companies providing land transportation services.
The Council affirms that the Egyptian state guarantees the protection of women from all forms of violence against them by the Constitution and the law and does not tolerate any of their rights.
The Council also affirms its full confidence in the relevant authorities’ performance of their role in protecting women and their families and their keenness to establish controls that provide safe means of transportation and take deterrent Legal action against anyone who dares to harm the security of Egyptian women.
Moreover, the National Council for Women called on the boards of directors of these companies to adhere to the conditions contained in Law No. 87 of 2018 and its executive regulations in selecting drivers and cars>
It also calls for activating the articles of the law and its executive regulations as follows:
１- Companies’ commitment to setting standards for drivers’ ethical and professional selection and ensuring their availability.
２- Companies’ commitment to conduct a drug and alcohol test on a monthly random sample of drivers of no less than 0.5%.
３- It also calls on the Ministry of Transport to conduct periodic random sample checks for a number of drivers at the Medical Commission or any of the medical centers accredited by the Ministry of Interior.
４- The companies’ commitment to immediately terminate the contract with any driver if positive results are proven for any alcohol or drug tests and to immediately inform the competent authorities of the results of those samples.
５- Companies should be committed to providing a center to receive customer complaints by telephone and register them immediately in the database.
６- The obligation of companies to issue operating permits for cars, operating cards, and explanatory signs, and the obligation of drivers to place that sign on the windshield of the vehicle, as stipulated in the executive regulations of the law.
７- The companies’ commitment to provide a certificate stating that the driver has been trained and qualified with their knowledge to deal with their electronic application.
８- The companies’ commitment to retrain the driver in the event that there are more than three complaints about him within one month, and in the event of their recurrence, measures will be taken to cancel the driver’s operating card.
９- Companies are obligated to provide the Ministry of Transport with all the reports and data it requests to measure quality and evaluate service within the limits of the law.
The Council then proceeded to suggest several proposals as extra precautions, including:
1- Establishing strict standards for hiring drivers that match international standards for companies.
2- A distinction must be made between complaints related to the occasion of work and complaints that constitute criminal crimes. The driver shall be banned from the first complaint issued against him if it is punishable by law, and the company is obligated to inform the competent authorities in the second case.
3- Creating a mechanism to link all companies to prohibit working with a driver who has repeated complaints and is prohibited from dealing with him. This should be included in a database that shows the driver’s name and national number.
4- The driver must sign an occupational safety and security document that includes his knowledge of all penal laws for crimes and sexual assaults. Companies must educate drivers about the laws related to criminal offenses related to women, especially harassment and sexual assaults, through mandatory periodic training, and the National Council for Women is fully prepared to provide any Support related to drivers’ legal awareness of these crimes
5- Activate attaching the drug analysis list to the required documents on the electronic platform for companies.
6- Adding a distress feature within the application to report any danger to which the customer is exposed, with an activated tracking feature inside cars separate from the driver’s phone.
7- The company is responsible for verifying the validity of the documents submitted by the driver.
8- Spreading awareness of the rights and duties that govern work in accordance with the law and its executive regulations, by preparing awareness campaigns through all media.
9- The commitment of companies to constantly monitor the message box between drivers and customers and to take precautionary measures against drivers who try to circumvent their way out of the company’s control during their trips by prohibiting dealing with them.
10- The Council would like to confirm that, through the complaints office of the National Council for Women, it receives any complaint related to the exposure of women and girls to any crime of exposure, harassment, or sexual assault through the number 15115, or share the reporting website for those who are exposed to any of these attacks on the WhatsApp number 01007525600 to enable quick access.
