It is worrying and infuriating to know that our young women are not safe on buses. The testimonies of the university students are few of many who have been victims of unwanted touches and sexual advances on buses.

Most of these incidents occur in crowded buses when some men commit such acts. Most times young women and girls do not speak out against such behaviour because it has been drilled into them not to complain. It is time to speak out, tell a parent, a friend or go to the police.

The victims in such cases are always young women and school-aged girls. Such incidents cannot be brushed aside or a blind eye turned to it. Sexual assaults are traumatic experiences that can change the lives of some of these girls. There have been cases where some young women have even stopped going to school.

The girls and young women who travel by bus have no other alternative means of transportation and are being targetted by perpetrators because they know this.

In July last year, a man was jailed for sexually assaulting a girl who was sitting on his lap. This is a practice that many feel is normal. There are still honorable men who would not do such things, but we cannot be expecting our young women and girls to sit on strange men’s laps.

"One time a man came right to the back of the bus where I was sitting and just put his arm around me, it was disgusting," said Tuotmaresa Tiatia a 19-year-old student studying at the university.

Tiatia along with several other women shared their experiences of being groped and touched by strangers while travelling on overcrowded buses that have made them feel uncomfortable.

"It's just weird having to sit on a random stranger's lap, it's gross," added one of the female students.

She added that she isn't the only one who has been touched inappropriately by men on the buses and has seen it occur on the buses heading to the Mulifanua Wharf during peak hour.

"There are older men and sometimes they are married men who usually grope me and think it's funny," a woman said.

What are we doing to protect these young women and girls? Parents should be talking to them and they should be taught to raise alarms when someone makes such unwanted advances on them on buses.

The simpler solution is to ensure that buses are not crowded. We need the police to step up on this issue.

March 8 is International Women’s Day. It’s a global day to recognise and celebrate women’s and girls’ social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. It’s also a time to raise awareness of the progress made towards achieving gender equality and the work still to be done.

The beginnings of International Women’s Day can be traced back to the early 20th century. It emerged from the activities of labour movements in North America and Europe and reflected a growing call for women’s equal participation in society.

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Invest in Women – Accelerate Progress.’ How can we do this when we cannot even protect our young women and girls in buses?  

While we celebrate International Women’s Day by highlighting all the women and girls who inspire us by demonstrating leadership in the choices they make in their day-to-day lives to contribute to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres, we should keep in mind on how as a society we can best protect our women.

In our communities throughout the country, girls and women are a vital - and equally important - part of our society. From career women to stay-at-home moms, all our women play an important role in shaping the world we live in.

For women to reach this level, the investment has to start at an early age, that is education and support all the way. This also includes better protection of our young women and girls on buses or any other form of public transportation.