Dr. Maria Chiara Leva:

I like some of the suggestions that have been made. In Italy, a specific branch of the police force, the Polizia Ferroviaria, is designed to patrol public transport, especially on trains because those journeys are longer. If something goes wrong, it can go horribly wrong before anyone can jump onto the carriage and solve the issue. There are ticket controllers. We have discussed the issue of women working in transport. We had the privilege to interview some of those women and learned that they perceive themselves as unable to intervene for two reasons. First, even if those women had the courage, strength and capacity to prevail over an offender, they may be in danger of being sued by that offender. Those women do not have the power to intervene in such cases. We must make clear what it is they can do. They can eject a disruptive passenger, as is the case on aeroplanes, with the assistance of police forces. They are not to engage in a power battle. It is unsafe to do so. It is not recommended and it is not a part of their duty.