Dikhyaa Mohanty 
At a time when the ‘Uber Files’ revealed what a joint investigation by global media organizations into leaked confidential files from the ride-sharing company found, the company faces more heat. Around 550 women across the US have claimed to have been assaulted by Uber drivers and are set to sue Uber Technologies Inc.
According to the reports, a complaint filed by law firm Slater Slater Schulman LLP in San Francisco has alleged that women were “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed or otherwise attacked” during their rides. The law firm further claimed Uber has known about sexual misconduct by some of the drivers, including rape, since 2014, and also that said it has about 550 clients with claims against Uber and is actively investigating at least 150 more cases.
Uber has faced complaints of misconduct on the ride-sharing app for long. Its safety report released two weeks ago showed the company received 3,824 reports of five most severe categories of sexual assault in 2019 and 2020. Complaints ranged from “non-consensual kissing of a nonsexual body part” to “nonconsensual sexual penetration,” or rape.
Uber, which has faced numerous lawsuits from women alleging sexual assault by drivers in several countries, had its license revoked in London twice in three years. Uber’s defence has been that it can’t be held responsible for behaviour of its drivers, who aren’t employees but are contractors.
