WomanACT is deeply concerned by the recent series of assaults on TTC buses in Scarborough and the impact these incidents have on riders’ sense of safety when using public transit.
According to the Toronto Police Service, two incidents occurred over September 23rd and 24th, 2026. On September 23rd, police allege that a man assaulted four passengers on a TTC bus travelling on Midland Avenue between Silver Star Boulevard and Huntingwood Drive. The following day, police allege that the same man assaulted another passenger on a TTC bus travelling southbound on McCowan Road near Alton Towers Circle. Police report that all five victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were not known to the accused. A 37-year-old man was arrested and charged with five counts of assault.
Concerns have been raised about whether some of the victims may have been targeted because of their gender, race, or faith. Media reports indicate that three of the four victims in the September 23rd incident were women and South Asian. Police have stated that the incidents are not currently being investigated as hate-motivated, although the Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit has been notified.
Regardless of motive, no one should have to fear being assaulted while commuting to work, travelling home, or simply moving through their city. The impact of violence on transit extends beyond the immediate physical harm. Experiences of harassment and violence can fundamentally change how people navigate public space, where and when they travel, and whether they feel able to use public transit at all.
This is not an isolated concern. WomanACT’s research has found that harassment on public transit is widespread and that women experience forms of sexual and gender-based harassment at significantly higher rates than men. In a survey of 1,550 Toronto residents conducted in partnership with Angus Reid Group, 86% of transit riders reported experiencing some form of harassment. Women were more likely than men to report unwanted sexual looks or gestures (59% compared with 22%) and sexual comments (50% compared with 19%).
Our research also found significant differences in perceptions of safety. Thirty per cent of women reported feeling unsafe on public transit, compared with 23% of men. Racialized women were also more likely than white women to report feeling unsafe. Feelings of safety were particularly affected by travelling at night: 39% of women reported feeling safe or very safe travelling at night, compared with 57% of men.
These experiences have real consequences. Women told us they adapt their behaviours to manage the risk of harassment and violence: staying on high alert, using their phones to avoid unwanted attention, avoiding transit after dark, getting off at earlier stops, travelling with others, and, for some, choosing not to make a trip at all.
Safety should not be a barrier to accessing public transit, employment, education, services, or community life.
WomanACT has consistently advocated for a systems-level approach to preventing and responding to gender-based violence on public transit. This means recognizing that transit safety is not only about responding after an assault occurs. It requires investment in infrastructure, prevention, staff training, community engagement, and meaningful accountability.
WomanACT’s call to action:
Women should not have to change how, when, or whether they travel because they are trying to avoid harassment or violence. Safety is not an individual responsibility; it is a systems responsibility. With Ontario’s municipal elections taking place on October 26th, 2026, transit safety is an especially important issue for public discussion. Transit, public safety, and the accessibility of public spaces are all areas where municipal leadership, investment, planning, and accountability matter. The choices made by municipal governments shape the transit environments people rely on every day, . Iincluding how safety is funded, planned, implemented, and evaluated.
As candidates and communities discuss Toronto’s future, transit safety must be part of that conversation. We need more than responses after violence occurs. We need sustained investment in prevention, safer transit infrastructure, staff training, gender-responsive policies, meaningful community engagement, and mechanisms to understand whether safety measures are improving riders’ experiences.
WomanACT will continue to advocate for gender-responsive, survivor-centred, and evidence-informed approaches to transit safety, and for the meaningful involvement of women and gender-based violence organizations in shaping solutions. We encourage candidates, transit decision-makers, and the public to treat safety as a fundamental part of accessible public transit.
Everyone should be able to move through Toronto safely, with dignity and without having to change their lives to manage the risk of violence. Public transit should be accessible and safe for everyone.
Aakanksha Mathur (she/her)
Manager of Public Policy, Advocacy and Communications
WomanACT
416-944-9242 Ext. 231
amathur@womanact.ca
womanact.ca
With Thanks to the City of Toronto
WomanACT extends our sincere thanks to the City of Toronto for its support throughout our time as a member of the Housing Rights Advisory Committee (HRAC), whose inaugural term came to a close last month.
HRAC was established by Toronto City Council in March 2023 as a new Council Advisory Body, created to ensure that the interests and needs of those with living or lived experience of housing precarity, discrimination and homelessness are reflected in City policies, programs and service delivery. WomanACT was proud to serve on this first cohort of members and to help shape the Committee’s work from the ground up.
Over the course of the term, HRAC advised City Council directly on policies, programs and decision-making affecting the right to adequate housing, bringing forward the perspectives of people with living and lived experience of housing precarity, discrimination and homelessness. The Committee also supported the City’s engagement with equity-deserving communities to identify systemic barriers to housing, and made recommendations to Council on barriers falling outside the City’s own jurisdiction. For WomanACT, that meant ensuring the housing experiences of women and survivors of gender-based violence were part of the Committee’s advice to Council: the barriers they face in securing safe housing, the conditions they too often endure to keep it, and the information they need to advocate for themselves.
We were pleased to see the City launch its new Rental Building Violation and Inspections Database, which reflects the Committee’s shared priorities around tenant rights, housing safety, transparency, and accountability. Tools like this one strengthen tenants’ ability to make informed decisions about where they live, an important foundation for safety and independence.
As this first term concludes, we are grateful to City Council, City staff, and our fellow Committee members for their commitment to this work, and we look forward to continued collaboration in advancing housing rights across Toronto.
In solidarity,
Harmy Mendoza,
Executive Director
WomanACT