More than 500 female passengers sue Uber over sexual assault

NEW YORK • Uber Technologies is being sued by more than 500 women across the United States who claim to have been assaulted by drivers using the platform.

The complaint, filed by Slater Slater Schulman in San Francisco, alleges that women taking rides were "kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed or otherwise attacked". It claims Uber has known about the sexual misconduct by some of the drivers, including rape, since 2014.

Uber has long struggled to handle complaints of misconduct on the ride-sharing app.

Just two weeks ago, it released a second safety report that showed it received 3,824 reports of the five most severe categories of sexual assault in 2019 and 2020, ranging from "non-consensual kissing of a nonsexual body part" to "non-consensual sexual penetration", or rape.

"While the company has acknowledged this crisis of sexual assault in recent years, its actual response has been slow and inadequate, with horrific consequences," said Mr Adam Slater, a partner at Slater Slater Schulman.

Uber has long defended itself by asserting that it cannot be held responsible for the behaviour of its drivers, who are contractors, not employees.

In its recent safety report, it said it conducts elaborate background checks of drivers before and during their time with the company.

BLOOMBERG