Policy against sexual assault, misconduct, and harassment
At Lyft, we believe all users of the Lyft platform deserve a respectful and safe ride environment. To that end, Lyft, and in many instances, the law, prohibit any form of sexual assault or sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment.
As defined by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)[1]:
- Sexual assault is physical or attempted physical conduct that is sexual in nature and without the consent of the user. Sexual in nature could be, but is not limited to, the context of body parts such as the mouth, breasts, buttocks, or genitalia.
- Sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment, is non-physical conduct (verbal or staring) of a sexual nature that is without consent or has the effect of threatening or intimidating a user against whom such conduct is directed. This includes explicit or non-explicit verbal comments, such as flirting, personal comments on appearance, and inquiries on relationship status. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual experiences that do not involve physical contact, such as sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and sexual comments.
The following are examples of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. This is not intended to be an exhaustive or exclusive list when determining whether there has been a violation of this policy:
- Physical touching, groping, pinching, kissing, hugging, patting, tickling, brushing against another person’s body, assault, coerced sexual acts, impeding or blocking movements;
- Unwanted advances or propositions, such as repeated requests for dates or sexual favors; suggestive or obscene messages or invitations;
- Non-verbal conduct such as staring, leering, or gestures;
- Catcalling (shouting, yelling, whistling);
- Unwanted sharing or display of visuals that are sexually suggestive (objects, posters, cartoons, pictures, or drawings);
- Verbal conduct such as lewd remarks, sex-based epithets, obscene comments, derogatory comments, sexually degrading words, slurs, sexual jokes, innuendo, or unwanted flirtations;
- Graphic comments about an individual’s body, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies
We strongly encourage the prompt reporting of all incidents of potential sexual assault, misconduct, or harassment to Lyft. Lyft has established a process for users to submit complaints through the Lyft app or by phone and will conduct an impartial and timely investigation to reach reasonable conclusions based on the information collected. If an allegation is credible, Lyft will take action up to and including permanently removing a user’s access to ride and/or drive with Lyft. Lyft’s investigation process ensures confidentiality to the extent possible and consistent with Lyft’s Privacy Policy. There will be no retaliation for making a good faith complaint or participating in an investigation against another user.
Because the intent of this policy is to deter conduct that is unwanted, unreasonable, and demeaning, Lyft may consider a user’s conduct to be in violation of this policy even if it does not rise to the level of unlawful assault or harassment under applicable law.
[1] See Sniffen, C., Durnan, J., & Zweig, J. (2018). Helping industries to classify reports of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and sexual assault. Harrisburg, PA: National Sexual Violence Resource Center; Report.