NS helpline advises woman harassed on train to ask perpetrator to stop

A woman on an NS train recently contacted the Dutch rail company’s helpline to report a man filming her and making her feel unsafe. In response, the NS help service told her that filming was not illegal and she should either go sit somewhere else or ask the man to stop it.

The woman shared her experiences, along with the text conversation with the NS helpline, on Instagram. She referred to stickers all over the trains, advising passengers to WhatsApp the helpline if they experience nuisance or unsafe situations on the train.

“I sat on the train with a man who was filming me and laughing. I felt scared, I didn’t dare stand up, I felt threatened, and I felt unsafe. I saved your 06-number and decided to text you. At your advice,” she wrote to NS on Instagram.

The first response she received was that the person on the NS line understood the situation was not fun, but the helpline was only meant for situations that required security services.

“In principle, filming and taking photos is not prohibited. You’re only not allowed to do anything with it. Maybe you could go find another seat on the train,” the NS employee responded to her WhatsApp messages. “Filming in public is allowed, though you could ask him to stop. I understand it is undesirable.”

The woman pointed out that the NS helpline’s response was to tell her perverts were allowed to film her, that she was sitting in the wrong place, and that she could ask the pervert to stop harassing her. When the man started sending her photos via Airdrop, the helpline said it couldn’t determine where Airdrops came from and that she shouldn’t compare it with sexual harassment.

“NS, how do you protect your clients exactly? By pointing out pervert’s rights? By giving them lessons in what is and what isn’t (sexual) harassment? By telling them the 06 number is meant for other things?” the woman wrote. “Either put competent employees on your helpline and take sexual harassment seriously or say that you can mean nothing to your customers when it comes to sexual harassment.”

A spokesperson for the NS told NL Times that the organization was disappointed by how the situation was handled. The WhatsApp line to report threatening behavior and unsafe incidents was launched in April 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, when fewer trains were operating and staffing on the train was reduced to a minimum.

“We feel very bad about what we have read in those posts. We are speaking with the colleagues from the WhatsApp Alert team. We’re a bit shocked. We do not think they responded well, and it was not handled well,” she said.

The WhatsApp Alert team is made up of NS staff members who only handle issues related to security. The NS will first discuss the incident with them and then have a broader conversation about how WhatsApp messages are handled to determine any changes in how such situations are dealt with in the future, she told NL Times.