All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing — Edmund Burke

This story has nothing to do with cats at all but does involve social media and a disturbing incident I witnessed. I tell this story not to draw attention to my actions but to hopefully inspire others to do something about it when faced with similar circumstances. More importantly this act I hope is not buried and the two individuals involved are held to account. I know (now first hand) sexual harassment is something that can happen in full public view and because of the bystander effect nothing will happen as long as the victim stays silent.

The bystander effect no longer works when one bystander stands up and makes a stand and demands action happen. I can tell you that having stood up it is not easy but I feel this is clearly a case where the greater good is bigger than one person and whatever personal sacrifices must happen are worth it to see to it something happens.

If you are reading this knowing nothing about Toronto, we have a transit system called the Toronto Transit Commission (abbreviated TTC) and it includes a subway system. The incident itself happened at Queen Street station at the northbound collectors booth station. I was entering the station as two armed guards were departing from the ticket collector booth. One of the guards starting, singing really loud and cat calling. At first I was confused by what was happening and that was when I noticed the female passenger just ahead of us.

I could tell by how she responded when she turned around and his reaction that she was the intended victim of his harassment. She quickly ran away and the guards went down the stairs I assume to finish their work. I made a mental note to record the guards’ employer by their shoulder flashes and also noted they were carrying sidearms. I also want to note that while one of the guards was the one doing the harassing the other guard did nothing to stop or deter his colleague’s actions.

I have to say the whole thing did not sink in at first. It really wasn’t until I got on the subway that it really sunk in that I witnessed a terrible act of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment on its own is a terrible act but when it is done while carrying sidearms it really does not give the victim or bystanders any options to intervene. It is even worse when the person doing it is doing it in the performance of their professional duties.

I do not know if the victim came forward but having been the target of sexual harassment from people with guns I would be surprised if she did. I however decided that I as a witness would come forward. I originally put the call out to the TTC on Twitter on what to do as I felt I would get some guidance from social media. I was given a phone number for customer service to call and I did.

After being on hold for a while the TTC employee told me to call the security guards company as the TTC could not make complaints against a private contractor. The next day I found out the TTC does not have a policy in place for this incident given its rarity and I hope this serves a call to action for the TTC to put in place accountability procedures for private contractors performing a duty on behalf of the TTC.

As this point I decided if I tried to make any private complaint it was going to get buried and I refused to allow things to stand as is. That is when I unleashed a series of tweets on Twitter outlining my disgust that the TTC was refusing to do anything. Thankfully the TTC monitors on Twitter what other’s say about it and I was able to get the attention of some senior TTC customer service managers.

I have manged to speak to two senior TTC managers, recount what I witnessed in the hopes the proper people can be notified and appropriate action taken. As I see it, armed guards who sexually harass innocent females are not just bad but pose a risk to public safety. It is my sincere hopes that these two men no longer be allowed to carry firearms on the job anymore. The public at large deserves better.

It is my understanding that the TTC is going to be complaining to the guards’s employer and request disciplinary action be taken which frankly I hope is termination of their employment so they can no longer openly carry firearms in public.

As for the poor woman who was the victim of this I hope wherever she is she is managing after her terrible experience. Many of these incidents that occur are witnessed by others but because of the bystander effect we choose to do nothing and place the onus on the victim for reporting. If you yourself witness one of these events flag the attention of a TTC employee, call 911 or report it as soon as it is safe to do so.

Toronto as a city deserves better than this and by choosing to speak up against the minority who choose to commit these terrible actions we help to reclaim our city and our transit system to make it safe for people of all ages and genders to travel on.