Halifax woman uses #HaliLadyCab hashtag to offer others a safe ride,

HALIFAX— In light of a judge’s verdict acquitting a taxi driver of sexual assault who had been found with an unconscious and mostly naked woman in his cab, Alana Canales said she wanted to move the conversation away from what the complainant should’ve done differently to, “I’m here for you if you need me.”

Canales started the hashtag #HaliLadyCab Wednesday evening to identify women on Twitter who would be willing to pick up anyone who felt uncomfortable taking a taxi in light of Bassam Al-Rawi’s acquittal, and last year’s spike of alleged sexual assaults in cabs.

“I don’t know if anyone will ever ask me for a ride late at night, but I do know that having me as an option is valuable,” Canales said via email.

Although Al-Rawi has a conditional licence, it has been non-operational since the charges were laid due to a lack of documentation from him about what company he’d drive for. HRM is now reviewing whether AlRawi’s licence should be revoked or reinstated in full.

Judge Gregory Lenehan’s comments on how the Crown did not prove there was a “lack of consent” in the case, despite the complainant’s high intoxication level, and her DNA on Al-Rawi’s mouth, don’t seem “reasonable” to many, Canales said.

As of Thursday afternoon, at least six others on Twitter had added the hashtag to their bios, including Corinne Gilroy.

Gilroy said she wanted to help after she watched case after case of sexual assault not be taken seriously by the judicial system and reached “a breaking point.”

She also emphasized she’d happily pick up anyone who is non-binary, and might not use female pronouns since those people are often “more targeted” by personal violence, Gilroy said.

“Your civic responsibility, it has to do with how you conduct yourself every day and how you engage with people every day. And that might be the best hope we have going forward — each other,” Gilroy said.