Image: Logan Campbell, Flickr
A visually-impaired woman did not want to leave her house after being publicly abused while riding a tram in Footscray.
Kathryn Beaton was travelling on the number 82 tram with her guide dog Zeke in early September when, she alleged, a young man began trying to pat the animal.
Ms Beaton said he repeatedly taunted the dog, running up and down the tram, ignoring her pleas not to touch him.
Kathryn Beaton and her Guide Dog ‘Zeke’. PHOTO: Supplied
“Over the course of the next five to 10 minutes, he would get more and more aggressive about it,” she said.
“At some point he collided with me.”
The situation escalated when the delinquent, described by other passengers as a teenage student, began hurling abuse at bystanders on the street.
A group of people soon jumped on the tram and a fight broke out in front of Ms Beaton, at which point she contacted police.
“It was very confronting to have someone not respect the fact I’m just trying to live my life and saw it as a game to harass me,” she said.
Ms Beaton, who only has 5 per cent vision, said police called to inform her they had spoken to a group of teenagers, but the original assailant who harassed her was not among them.
“I’ve had issues with restaurants or taxis refusing me access, but I’ve never had someone harass me for so long,” she said.
A spokesperson for Yarra Trams said the vehicles operating on the 82 route were older models, so no CCTV would be available of the incident.
An April survey by Guide Dogs Victoria showed 34 per cent of blind or vision-impaired handlers have had their dogs attacked, in many cases by unrestrained pets.
Guide Dogs Victoria spokesperson Michelle Kelso said the teenager “didn’t have respect for anyone”, but wanted to remind people to engage with the visually-impaired.
“We don’t want to discourage people from being friendly and open, but at the same time we need the dogs to work,” she said.
Distractions for guide dogs from other people are a large concern for the organisation as it presents a safety issue for their handlers.
Sixty-two per cent of guide dog users indicated patting from strangers was the most concerning experience, with 60 per cent forced to change their travel route as a result.
Despite the treatment, Ms Beaton does not want her perpetrator to be dealt a criminal record but rather to “develop some compassion”.
“I want him to get help to understand it’s not okay to do this to people,” she said.
