The widespread claims of taxi-men and bus drivers having sexual intercourse with schoolgirls, the practice of observing ‘no-panty days’ or wearing crotchless panties, has spurred a group monitoring youth to conduct a survey to determine the veracity of the reports.

The survey by Youth.now found that while most of the drivers would not admit to personally having a sexual encounter with a schoolgirl, they reported knowing of some other driver who did. Twenty-three per cent of taxi-drivers said women or schoolgirls occasionally offer sex in exchange for rides.

According to the landmark survey entitled “Taxi-men – Predator or Prey?” and released two weeks ago, only 18.6 per cent of taxi-drivers admitted that they had ever had sex with a female passenger, but their encounters, they said, were with adult women. Most said they understood and feared the penalties for having sex with schoolgirls.

The survey was commissioned earlier this year by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to clarify recent reports of sex in exchange for money and other goods between male taxi-drivers and teenage girls.

A sample of 490 taxi-drivers, defined as operators of all types of small vehicles, as well as public passenger carriers, registered or unregistered, were interviewed and observed in five parishes: St Catherine, Manchester, St Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Hanover. Researchers, fearing non-compliance, first pre-tested the questionnaire and tried to “de-sensitise then re-sensitise” the respondents.

There was “a lot of emotion attached to the taxi-driver and schoolgirl” scandal that broke months ago in the media, said Claudia Chambers, head of Psearch Associates Limited, addressing nearly 50 educators and representatives from the places of safety, the Women’s Centre and several ministries assembled at the Hotel Four Seasons in Kingston.

The researchers also conducted focus group discussions with Ministry of Health personnel and contact investigators who shared details of their observations.

A significant 57.7 per cent of the men surveyed were between ages 25 and 39; just under half had at least a secondary education; almost a third had been driving for three to five years and just under a quarter for six to 10 years. On average, the men spent 10.5 hours on the road daily, six days a week, and many faced “severe economic pressure” when they could not meet their financial quota at the end of the day.

According to Campbell, there was general knowledge among the interviewees that to have sex with a girl under 16 was illegal, and many of those who admitted having sex with their passengers, claimed ignorance of the ages.

“The conductors told us that who the girls really target are the drivers. Drivers were perceived as cash-rich, they had money,” Campbell said. The girls were especially attracted to fancy, new, shiny and well-kept cars with plush seats, leather interior, CD player, loud music and “if they had video and television, even better”. In addition, they went after young, handsome drivers, with underpants and merino showing, earrings and plaited hair.

The taxi-men claimed that some of the perpetrators were not cabbies but mostly young men who were running robot taxis for the opportunity of sex and to make some money. They complained that they had brought disgrace on the legitimate taxi-men.

They said the sex acts were often carried out hurriedly before, after, or while en route to school, sometimes inside the vehicles.

“Some mothers would tell them to take their daughters to school on credit and some drivers saw this as an opportunity,” Campbell said. In a few cases, the daughter is sent “out” to find money to support the household. In other instances, a driver “friend” is depended on for household food.

One of the more disturbing revelation in the findings was the high risk of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease (STD) transmission, as there appeared to be limited condom use and many drivers reported having more than one sex partner. Some 8.3 per cent of the respondents reported having had symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as abnormal discharge or warts, but half of the respondents believed they won’t get an STI.

The researchers recommended that a further extensive study be done on the subject, which would include small, interactive group sessions with taxi-drivers and conductors, students, parents, school principals and health professionals.