Food delivery services abuse involve a range of assaults and sexual harassment committed by both delivery drivers and customers. These assaults and harassments are often a one–time, non–consensual encounter, but given the role technology plays in these interactions, encounters can be ongoing and happen over a period of time. More problems arise when the food delivery services do not take responsibility for their contractors or do not offer support to contractors that have become victims.
The food delivery service gig worker economy creates an environment that breeds opportunities for assault and sexual harassment by both delivery drivers and customers. The economic success of companies like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart depend on hiring a large workforce of contract workers who they do not have to give benefits like overtime, retirement benefits, workers’ compensation, or health insurance to or provide any type of job security. Within this environment workers are essentially replaceable. This allows the companies to ignore workers when complaints are made. When these companies do not take any responsibility for these assaults and harassments the victims can feel alone and at a loss. According to a New York Times opinion piece these gig workers often described their experiences as “weird,” “uncomfortable” or “Bizzarro land” but almost never as sexual harassment or assault showing how resigned these workers can become to the treatment they receive from both customers and their employer. With millions of people out of work or working from home because of the pandemic many people have begun working for and ordering from food delivery services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart.
Gig economy companies should be held responsible for abuse their workers suffer on the job, they should teach their workers about the risk of sexual harassment and assault and should be a source of immediate support should an issue arise. They should also be responsible to their customers and take care in who they are hiring by completing thorough background checks.