Campaign takes on T molesters

BOSTON. In an unprecedented  effort to battle sexual harassment on MBTA buses and trains, a public service campaign will be launched today encouraging victims and witnesses to file reports while warning culprits they are being watched — and will be caught.

“The reason we need people to report these crimes is because the people who do this are usually repeat offenders,” Acting Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan told Metro last month.

The campaign will include posters and billboards depicting T scenes where an assault could take place and will notify riders how and where to report a crime. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center has teamed up with the T on the campaign and will offer local victims 24-hour assistance.

Although reporting of crimes is considered lacking, some notable busts have occurred in recent months. A Dorchester man was nabbed after allegedly groping a woman on the Green Line in February, just a day after another man was taken in for allegedly flashing two women at the Hynes T station in the Back Bay.

In December, an alert teen took a photo with her camera phone of a man who had allegedly molested her. Jeffrey N. Berman, 60, of Newton, was nabbed days after the photo was made public.

While these arrests are significant, a 2007 study in New York City found that 96 percent of sexual harassment victims did not report the incident, perhaps unsure of where to turn to for support.

“The crowding and anonymity of public transportation can sometimes allow inappropriate sexual behavior,” said Gina Scaramella, BARCC executive director. “The MBTA is taking bold steps to address this problem.”