After being touched, followed and harassed by the driver who brought her home, a 31-year-old Parisian was accused by the Uber company of touching and had her account deleted.
It’s in a long-term investigation from Causette magazine that the journalist Elodie Hervé reveals what happened to Marie, 31 years old. On May 28, 2021, this Parisian ordered an Uber to go home after a night of work.
After dropping off a colleague, the driver takes the direction of Marie’s place. The latter, sitting in the front on the advice of the driver because she is alcoholic and nauseous, suddenly becomes the target of remarks about her physique. He insisted on seeing her again before passing the destination and parking in a street adjacent to the young woman’s home.
According to her testimony, this is where sexual assault as defined by law begins. He cornered her and forcibly kissed her before asking her number and ringing her phone to verify that it was the correct one. “It was horrible. I felt like I couldn’t control the situation. I told him I wasn’t available to see him again and I took advantage of a moment of inattention to run away. “, tells the alleged victim at Causette.
A new assault occurs just after getting out of the car. She explains that the man follows her home, pushes her against a wall and forcibly kisses her again. He did not leave until 20 minutes later. “I ended up giving him the impression that we were going to meet again so that he left me alone.” He then sends her an SMS: “Good night darling.”
A whole different story from Uber
The next day, Marie will lodge a complaint with the police station and contact the service specializing in “incidents” concerning VTC. “Each time, they questioned my word and asked me inappropriate questions”, confides the Parisian at Causette.
On the side of Uber, however, who contacted the driver in question, it is Marie the culprit. Her account was deleted and she received an email dated June 15, 2021 accusing her of “attempted non-consensual physical contact.” She would therefore be the aggressor in the story. “It was ultra violent to tell ourselves that we are in a vulnerable situation, we take an Uber to be safe and when we experience an assault, the firm questions our word.”
Asked by Causette, Uber first insisted on its new program “Neither outside nor on board” started in March 2021 and supposed to improve their image after the hundreds of testimonials published online with #UberCestOver in 2019. Online training courses are supposed to be delivered to employees while the firm signs charters, launches a hotline and a emergency button accessible since 2018.
After reflection, Uber France’s communications officer, Rym Saker, admits in an email that the decision to delete Marie’s account was a mistake. “They accused me of sexual assault, a ‘sorry about this mistake’ will not be enough” considers the Parisian.
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On the driver’s side of the VTC, he denies all the facts including the SMS sent (that Chat could consult). He also explains that being accused of sexual assault by clients is a routine because they would use this technique to “get reimbursed for a ride.” And the man to add: “There is not a driver who is not accused, especially for a year and a half. We got used to it. I’m not my type, but, yes, I am often accused.” Comments denied by Uber which adds that the account of the driver in question has been deleted.
Dan Hastings
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