WATCH: Taxi assaults in Montreal
MONTREAL — Newly released numbers from Montreal police show what the risks are for sexual assault when taking a taxi.
An access to information request by CJAD revealed the number of sexual attacks in taxis has varied in the city over the last ten years.
In 2004, there were eight assaults in Montreal taxis. There were 23 assaults in 2007, which then dropped to eight in 2010 and 12 in 2012.
The numbers have jumped in the last two years.
READ MORE: What can Montreal do to increase taxi safety?
There were 33 assaults against women by Montreal taxi drivers in 2014. In 2014, the number was 27.
There are 37 million cab rides taken in the city every year.
Montreal police said they had no reason to give specific warnings about taxi assaults.
“We’ve got 1,200 cases of sexual assaults each year and about 20 involving possible taxi drivers, ” police spokesperson Ian Lafrenière told Global News.
“For us it was pretty safe and there was no reason for us to go public to say it’s a danger be careful. It wasn’t.”
Dana Flynn from the West Island Round Table on Violence said she believes that knowledge is power.
“If you don’t bring education about these sorts of things to people who are out at night and in these situations, they’re not going to know how to react.”
WATCH: Sexual assault in taxis on the rise in Montreal
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