NPR

Uber Report: Nearly 6,000 Cases Of Sexual Assault Over 2 Years

In this posed picture, the Uber app is opened on a mobile phone, backdropped by other transport services in London, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

Uber’s own safety report reveals nearly 6,000 cases of sexual assault in two years. We look at the gig economy’s sexual assault problem and how to fix it.

Guests

Lauren Kaori Gurley, staff writer at Motherboard, the tech vertical for Vice, covering labor and tech. (@LaurenKGurley)

Cindy Southworth, executive vice president at the U.S. National Network to End Domestic Violence. She serves on the safety advisory committee for Uber. Founder of Safety Net Tech Project. (@CindySouthworth)

Alexandrea Ravenelle, professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Author of “Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy.” (@AJRavenelleNYC)

Interview Highlights

On whether gig economy companies should take responsibility for their independent contractors

“Because these workers are classified as independent contractors, the company is very much able to outsource risk to the workers. They can say it’s up to the driver if they want to have a partition or a camera. And they can say that it’s the driver’s responsibility to pay for

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