The Basque Ministry of Sustainable Mobility to complete the implementation of measures against gender-based violence in its railway network

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The Basque Ministry of Sustainable Mobility to complete the implementation of measures against gender-based violence in its railway network 

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- The measures recommended in the White Paper of criteria to design the stations of the Basque railway network from a gender perspective have involved an investment of €405,000. 
 
- The new Zarautz or San Pelaio stations, and others being built such as the Pasaia, Usurbil and Zumaia stations on the Topo line bypass, already include those requirements. 
 
This morning in Añorga, Susana García Chueca, the Basque Government's Minister for Sustainable Mobility, has stressed that her ministry – through Euskal Trenbide Sarea (ETS) – are on track to complete by the end of the year the implementation of the first phase of deterrent measures against gender-based violence in stations of its rail network and which have involved an investment of €405,000.
 
 “We have improved security in 47 stations of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, because despite the good levels in that regard, we have been able to boost our facilities so that all Euskotren users feel safer", explained the Minister at the station of the Añorga district of San Sebastián; it is one of the terminals that has emergency SOS posts, which she visited accompanied by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Councillor for Mobility, Tourism and Spatial Planning, Azahara Domínguez. They had meet beforehand to share experiences and initiatives in gender and transport at both institutions. 
 
The measures set out in the White Paper of criteria to design the stations of the Basque railway network from the gender perspective have been implemented in many of the ETS and Euskotren rail stations during 2023 and 2024.  This document, published in 2022 as an ETS Equality Group initiative, notes the need to improve security, particularly in stations away from urban centres.  The most novel intervention has been the installation of around fifty emergency SOS posts and thirty or so surveillance cameras in 29 ETS stations - 18 in Bizkaia and 11 in Gipuzkoa. 
 
The SOS posts consist of a help point with an emergency push button.   The Minister and Provincial Councillor were shown how pushing it triggers an automatic call to the ETS command position, an acoustic alarm warning in the same station, a flashing light at the top of the SOS post to be activated and the adjacent cameras to start a live stream. 
 
The ETS command position, from where all the rail traffic is controlled, checks that the call is not a prank and, if it is not, transfer the call to SOS Deiak emergency coordination centre. In addition, there are 32 recordingsurveillance camera, which will optimise safety, along with those already installed at the railway facilities. 
 
Once the emergency button is pushed, voice communication starts with the person needing assistance; a window with images – from the strategically positioned cameras focusing on the SOS post  – automatically opens up on the control panel of the command position, so that the surveillance officer has the best view possible of the location and can thus optimally assist the user. 
 
 “We have not just installed the SOS posts, but have also recently begun to fit mirrors to improve the concealed points in 21 stations of the network and to replace opaque by clear glass in three terminals.  Around fifty surveillance cameras have also been installed at 14 stops on the Bilbao tram network, which previously lacked those measures", García Chueca pointed out.
 
The Minister highlighted the investment made in this regard, which overall is higher than the aforementioned €405,000, "as the network's stations – some being built as Pasaia, Usurbil and Zarautz, the three on the Lugaritz-Easo rail bypass, and others already in service such as Zarautz and San Pelaio – already include the measures recommended in the White Paper".  
 
Añorga station, opened in 2012, has three SOS posts, eight cameras and five mirrors, which will be fitted shortly, to improve visibility and the feeling of safety of the Topo line passengers. 
 
First protocol against male violence against women in Lurraldebus
 
In turn, the Provincial Councillor for Mobility, Tourism and Spatial Planning, Azahara Domínguez, explained that her department is immersed in preparing the first protocol to combat male violence against women in Lurraldebus. The document is "comprehensive and proactive", which has been produced "by and for the Lurraldebus passengers and workers"; it seeks not only to prevent, but also to offer tools to act when such violence situations occur.  As the provincial councillor explained, the work is "very ambitious" and takes a holistic view of public transport into account; it is not only limited to the time that the passengers and workers are in the bus, but it also takes into account from the location to safety at the stops.   
 
Therefore, Councillor Azahara Domínguez explained that meetings have been held, for several months now, with all the stakeholders involved in public transport, from Lurraldebus users to workers, and including local councils and police forces.  The protocol will also include input from different women's associations and homes.  "The different violence against women is one of the most overwhelming forms of inequality, as assaults, sexual harassment and feeling unsafe limit our ability to take part in society, apart from breaching our rights.  Public institutions must therefore forge alliances with civil society and with the stakeholders involved so that public transport into a space where women feel safe.  Because apart from being sustainable, convenient, competitive and accessible, public transport must be safe for all users", she stressed.