As women, we’ve become accustomed to applying hyper vigilance when it comes to keeping ourselves safe and avoiding harassment. We book taxis home at night to minimise risk and we clutch our keys if we do decide to walk back. We watch our drinks in bars and clubs. Some of us change our workout routines come winter to avoid running after dark. Where we are supposed to feel safe is in our homes. Our living space should be the place we feel most at ease and protected, and yet women are now reporting that, thanks to a number of predatory takeaway delivery drivers, they no longer feel safe there either.
Content creator Lauren Vassallo was at home alone one evening when she ordered a Deliveroo takeaway. She lives in an apartment block, and buzzed the driver through the outside entrance before meeting him at her front door. Immediately, he began acting in a way that made her feel uneasy. “He leaned towards me, his eyes lit up and he looked excited. His whole demeanour, aura, everything really threw me off,” she recalled. “I instinctively shouted, ‘babe, food’s here’ despite the fact my boyfriend wasn’t home.” She closed the door, plated up her food and started eating. Ten minutes later, she heard a knock. “I asked who it was through the door, and the driver shouted ‘delivery’ in this weird voice. I told him I hadn’t ordered anything else, but he just kept repeating ‘delivery, deliverooooo’ and continued knocking. I felt petrified.” Lauren called her boyfriend and told him to come home, and by the time he arrived, the driver had left. “I could barely get the words out, I was so shaken and scared,” she says. “It was just the idea of him lingering by my door waiting for me to open up. I honestly thought he was going to rape me.”
Lauren contacted Deliveroo and asked for his details, but the company declined to share them. “I wanted to know who he was. He had anonymity whereas he knew where I lived and that made me feel really vulnerable. If someone’s anonymous, it’s harder for them to be held accountable – it makes it easy for them.” She has since put up a security camera at her door. “He might never come back, but he could – he knows where I live now,” she says. “Even if Deliveroo fired him, he still knows where I live, and that makes me feel really anxious.” GLAMOUR has passed details of Lauren's incident to Deliveroo for investigation.
Her story is far from an isolated incident. After Lauren shared her experience on Instagram, she was inundated with responses from other women, many of whom could relate to her account. “Of all the things I’ve posted, that had the bigger reaction. Women told me about the measures they take to keep themselves safe from delivery drivers and about their stories of harassment,” she said. “It stopped me from feeling overdramatic, which was nice, but it also made me think, ‘wow, this happens a lot.’”
Claire Mason was at home on her own in her student house when she ordered a takeaway delivery. It was a gloomy winter evening and she hadn’t turned the lights on yet, so the driver didn’t have a clear view of her when he arrived. Still, this didn’t stop him harassing her. “He started saying weird stuff, telling me I was beautiful and that he really liked me,” she said. “I interrupted, asked him to give me my food and then closed the door. Minutes later he started sending me text messages telling me he was in love with me and that he was glad we’d met. At first I thought it was funny, then it dawned on me that he had my number and my address and that’s when I started to feel scared. I was worried that he was going to break in and assault me. He felt predatory, it wasn’t about me specifically – I could have been any woman home alone and he would have responded the same.” Mason messaged the delivery company immediately, but after receiving an automated response, called the police. “They thanked me for calling, but ultimately just said he probably had a crush on me and not to worry. That didn’t feel great – they didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t order takeaways for three months after that.”
Many women have reported similar accounts of delivery takeaway drivers repeatedly calling or messaging them afterwards. It all classifies as harassment. Ellie Roddy recalls how one Deliveroo driver started following her on Instagram immediately after he left her front door. “I blocked him immediately, but it really put me on edge,” she said. “It was one of those accounts where the person only follows very few accounts and they’re all similar people – in this instance, young women and it makes your skin crawl. He knew where I lived, and he’d also – because he had my name via the app – managed to find me on Instagram and see what I was up to.” Roddy called Deliveroo, who assured her they’d deal with it but they never contacted her again to tell what steps had been taken. “Taxis and ordering in are supposed to be a way for women to stay safe,” she says. "Instead of walking down to your local takeaway place after dark, which might not be safe, you order in which is supposed to be safer – the same as how ordering a taxi home is supposed to be safer than walking back or getting a bus. Now, that’s not even guaranteed.” GLAMOUR has passed details of Ellie's incident to Deliveroo for investigation.
All the women I spoke to said they since taken greater precautions when ordering a takeaway to their homes. Lauren said she temporarily questioned herself for having answered the door in a pair of shorts: “I know it’s stupid, and I did nothing wrong wearing them, but you do start second guessing yourself.” Ellie always ensures that she’s wearing something loose with full coverage to minimise any risk. “I’m careful to answer the door only in a baggy jumper and trousers, nothing suggestive,” she comments. “It’s the same stupid advice that they tell you when you’re walking home late at night, and I’m starting to do that even to collect a takeaway from my front door. It sounds ridiculous, and almost embarrassing. Nine times out of ten, it’ll be fine but it’s that tenth time – you just don’t want to take the risk.” All three interviewees said they feel safer ordering a takeaway when with other people and ask their partners to answer the door if they’re at home.
Of course, it shouldn’t be women who have to find deft ways of avoiding sexual harassment. Once again, it is male behaviour at fault and, as cases become more prevalent, companies need to develop more effective ways of protecting their customers. Delivery driver harassment has become yet another thing men can do to women with relative impunity. After I reached out for comment, Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat all say they are committed to taking the safety of their customers seriously, and the two former businesses both issued specific statements which are outlined at the end of the piece. They all have policies around professional conduct for riders. However, the fact that there are incidents of harassment indicates that the problem needs to be tackled in greater depth. Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), says that delivery driver harassment is reflective of a wider societal issue. “Experiences of sexual harassment are unacceptably common and disproportionately impact women and girls across their lifetimes, in almost all settings and within all professions – so it is not unique to delivery drivers,” she explains. “However, as these workers have access to women in their homes, there are enhanced risks here and this unwanted behaviour deserves urgent attention. At the root of this problem is gender inequality and the attitudes and beliefs it produces: male power, control and a sense of entitlement to women and our bodies.”
Simon says it’s clear that this issue still isn’t enough of a priority for takeaway delivery companies and suggests improved staff training and the implementation of stricter policies and procedures backed up with serious consequences for those who do not comply. “Any sexual harassment is a threat to women and girls because these incidents aren’t isolated or harmless,” she says. “Harassment is part of a broader spectrum of abusive behaviour that reinforces the message that violence against women and girls is an acceptable part of life. We also know that many perpetrators escalate their offending from harassment to other forms of violence, so it cannot be dismissed. Delivery drivers have access to women in their homes, so we expect companies to ensure their workers are properly trained and comply with strict policies and procedures to keep female customers safe. Ending violence against women is everyone’s business.”
GLAMOUR reached out to the two major food delivery apps, Deliveroo and UberEats, for comment on how they keep their customers safe:
A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “Deliveroo takes a zero tolerance approach to any form of harassment or misconduct and, as soon as the order details are shared with us, we’ll investigate as a priority. We expect all the riders we work with to behave professionally and respectfully at all times and, if a rider is found to have materially breached their agreement with us, then their account would be closed with immediate effect.”
An Uber Eats spokesperson said: "We take a zero tolerance approach to sexual violence and harassment which has absolutely no place in society. Any reports we receive are investigated thoroughly. Couriers who use the Uber Eats app are required to follow our Community Guidelines and any courier found to be in breach of these guidelines risks losing access to the app.”
The Met said: “We would advise that anyone who feels they are in danger or feel uncomfortable about someone’s behaviour towards them, call police on 101, or in an emergency call 999.”
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