The German Green Party has proposed the creation of “women only” train cars for the underground network in the capital city of Berlin, due to the huge increase of sexual assaults and rapes in the last ten years. This proposal has caused a huge backlash from most other sectors of the German society.

In the last ten years (since 2015) violent crimes, especially assaults and rapes against women, have registered a huge increase in Germany. Numbers of up to 300% have been mentioned. Police statistics show that close to 60% of the perpetrators do not have a German passport. Which is a big over-representation. And the vast majority of these are male and Muslim.

It is a fact that the situation for women in Berlin, as well as many other cities in Germany, has had a dramatic turn for the worst. Especially at night, and especially in public transit.

Based on the Tokyo model, where extra compartments for women exist during rush-hour to better protect them from male assaults during the over-crowding, the Greens of Berlin have proposed special women compartments for the metro in Berlin. In a recent interview “KRITIK AN FRAUENWAGGONS: Rückschrittlich! Mehr Sicherheit für Frauen in der U-Bahn?” (the interview is in German) the human rights activist and author Seyran Ates has sharply condemned this idea. She went so far to say that it is a contempt of our values. Another poignant statement is: “It is wrong to tell our daughters to wear longer skirts and high necklines to hide the cleavage, in order to protect them from sexual assault and rape. Instead we should tell our sons that it is absolutely not acceptable to touch or grab any women, no matter what they wear or how they are made-up.”

On one hand most commentators are glad that the problem is [finally] being recognized and has entered the public debate. But on the other hand, the proposal of a female compartment is seen by many as symbolism instead of security.

Many people opt for a passive retreat from threats by staying home and avoiding public transit at night. Thus handing the public spaces over to those who do not respect the cultural and ethic values of this country.

But let us all not forget that it is not only women who are potential victims of assault and rape. Especially trans and gender queer people are extremely vulnerable, and more often than not run afoul of the so-called safe-space regulations.

Socially, I have lived, self-identified and presented as a female for the last three years. For various reasons neither a legal nor a medical transition is a short term option for me. In general I am treated as a female, like I am presenting, here in Germany. And strangely enough, at least in my personal experience, the most tolerant, friendly and welcoming people are [Muslim] women wearing the hijab. While the most bigotry and aggression I have experienced tends to come from young males with beards and pretty obvious middle-eastern ethnicity.

Given my own trust issues towards males, and a feeling of unease when dealing with males in a social setting, I have a lot of sympathy and empathy for genetic women who need a safe space that, to put it bluntly, is free from penises. And even though I self-identify as female, I know that legally and biologically I am still classified as a male. As such, I feel that it is wrong for me to sue for access to such a safe space. I may quietly and respectfully request for admission. But demanding access is counter-productive in the medium to long term.

As the refrain goes: you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.