TripAdvisor should implement policies that will protect customers from sexual violence

When I first told my story publicly, I started getting messages from women from all over the world sharing how they were sexually assaulted in hotels. But our voices keep being silenced. The tourist industry keeps ignoring us, keeps covering up rapes and crimes, keeps pretending like this is not happening.

The most popular tourist website TripAdvisor in not an exception.

After what happened to me at Six Senses Zil Pasyon hotel, I wanted to warn other travellers about the danger. I wrote a review on TripAdvisor and tried to publish it several times. But I just couldn’t. I sent emails to TripAdvisor trying to understand what was going on, but received not reply.

My review eventually got published in November 2017 after the publication of an investigative report by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that revealed that TripAdvisor had removed reports of rapes, injuries and deaths among travelers in Mexico. Journalist Raquel Rutledge followed up with an article for which she also interviewed me.

Right after that, TripAdvisor introduced health, safety and discrimination issues badges to warn users about businesses with “health, safety, and discrimination issues”. But this has proved insufficient.

There is now a new petition from a survivor calling TripAdvisor to finally implement policies that will protect customers from sexual violence.

K., the author of the petition who wishes to stay anonymous, revealed that she was raped by a tour guide, and all what TripAdvisor did to help her warn other travellers was to advise her to post a negative review. K. believes this is not enough. Her review - if it got published - would simply get ‘lost’ among other reviews – just like my review did – and the aggressor will be free to attack other female travelers. Please read and sign K’s petition. You voice can help: https://www.change.org/p/tripadvisor-stop-covering-up-sexual-assaults