After launching the campaign against the sexual harassment on public transport, Nepal Police arrested 13 on charge of sexually harassing a teenager girl on a public transport.

Metropolitan Police Office, in association with community service centres and transport entrepreneurs, had on launched the sting operation to discourage sexual harassment on public transport from August 2. The operation has been named ‘Safety Pin Campaign’.

According to police, suspects aged between 18 and 30 years were arrested in one week of the operation. Of them, five are facing social crime charges while two have been sent to jail.

A three-member team, also comprising a woman cop or a member of general public in civvies, conduct deceptive operation designed to catch persons making unwanted sexual advances towards female passengers on public transport, mainly the buses.

Backed by a special mobile van, police use a woman as a commuter in a public bus. Anyone found sexually harassing female passengers is arrested outright for legal action under the existing laws, MPO said.

The sting operation teams are mobilised in busy thoroughfares, including bus parks, of Kathmandu Valley to catch the perpetrators. It is the first operation of this kind to curb sexual harassment in public buses.

Many women and teenagers using public transport often face different forms of sexual harassment, but most cases go unreported. Public vehicles in the Valley are usually overcrowded, providing the molesters with ample opportunities to sexually harass women.

According to report of The Himalayan Times, tens of thousands of people use public vehicles daily in the Valley. Existing laws define sexual assault as any form of sexual contact or activity like touching, tapping and showing sexually explicit pictures or movies without one’s consent.