Women have decided to leave hair and fingerprints in Ubers to be safe

Women using ride-sharing services like Uber have started leaving their hair and fingerprints inside the vehicle as evidence in case of an assault. Some of them are spreading the advice on TikTok, as a warning to everyone and a reminder of the harsh reality.

User @brennalina The video went viral on the sharing platform After posting on TikTok About how she leaves behind DNA and fingerprint evidence every time she uses Uber. The video started a very important discussion about women constantly worrying about their safety. You’ll find the full video, as well as how the internet reacted to it, below.

Dear Pandas, How do you stay safe while traveling? Have you ever felt unsafe using Uber or other similar services? Share your thoughts, tips and experiences in the comments.

KristenBellTattoos.com Reached out to TikToker @brennalina via her Instagram. We will update the article after we hear from him again.

Some women have started leaving their hair and fingerprints inside the car whenever they use ride-sharing services like Uber.

Image credit: Brennalina

Image credit: Brennalina

You can watch the full TikToker video here.

brennalina Ladies amirite #lovebeingawoman #fyp ♬ These videos are adorable – 🪶 Starling

There’s a very obvious reason why women leave their fingerprints and DNA behind in cars: the amount of s*xual assaults consumers have been subjected to is shocking.

According to Uber’s latest safety incident report covering 2019 and 2020, there were 3,824 reports of “the five most severe types of s*xual assault” during that time. CNN reports. The number was 5,981 in 2017 and 2018.

In 2019 and 2020, Uber riders were accused of s*xual assault, the report said. In 2017 and 2018, it was 45 percent.

“Changes in the rate of s*xual assault reports over time may be affected by a number of factors, including how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the use of the platform as well as Uber’s safety and transparency efforts. But every The reported incident represents a traumatic experience for the survivor. Even one report is one report too many,” Uber wrote.

While the safety situation is clearly far from resolved, Uber is making some changes that should improve things a bit. For example, in 2018, it introduced continuous background checks on drivers. Because of this, over 80,000 drivers have been removed from the platform due to new reports of criminal offences. There is a long way to go until everyone using ride-sharing services feels completely safe.

Some safety rules, Directly from Uber, add your ride request indoors so you spend less time standing outside yourself. Also, get the driver to confirm your name. For example, you can ask them, ‘Who are you here to pick up?’

Avoid sitting in the front of the car, right next to the driver, so you have more room and can get out from either side of the car if needed.

Also, remember to share your trip details with loved ones, such as your family members and friends. And above all: follow your intuition. If your gut is telling you something is wrong, it probably is.

As we’ve covered on Board Panda before, many young women who are victims of harassment blame themselves for what happened. This makes them reluctant to talk about what happened to their loved ones: they fear that their family members, such as parents, will blame them.

Something that can help you rebuild a sense of security in your local area is community. Getting to know people in your neighborhood, building relationships with them, can give you a support network when you need help.

Here’s how some women reacted to the video. Some shared their tips for staying safe while using Uber.