TripAdvisor responds to Change.org petition on sexual assault 'cover-ups'

TripAdvisor is one of the top services utilized by travelers. It’s a source for everything you should know about your destination, regardless of how obscure or isolated it may be. Need to know lesser-known gems to see, or the less touristy places to visit? Check there.

One of the more important services offered by TripAdvisor covers wayfarer safety, which can mean any number of things from violence to pickpockets to scams.

One of the big ones, especially in today’s climate, is sexual assault. While TripAdvisor has a way of reporting all crimes, women were finding ones of a sexual nature to be needlessly complicated. To be clear, the 'cover-up' in our headline is a term used in a Change.org petition created by a female traveler, and not one that necessarily fits. That’s for each person to judge.

Either way, the petition has gathered a lot of interest, with 694,912 supporters, and TripAdvisor has agreed to take action.

In a statement the travel firm says "For more than a decade, TripAdvisor has enabled sexual assault survivors to anonymously tell their stories, which have in turn served as warnings to millions of travelers across the globe. After speaking with 'K' (the author of this Change.org petition) and other survivors of sexual assault over the past few months, we realized that travelers might need more guidance on how to set up an anonymous account to courageously share their first-hand review about a safety incident. We now provide these tips on our platform."

TripAdvisor goes on to state that "While for years travelers have been able to post their anonymous reviews, we heard loud and clear that we needed to do a better job of surfacing reviews that include safety concerns and incidents of assaults so they are easier to find."

We sincerely hope these changes meet the needs expressed in the complaint registered. All crimes should be reported no matter how big or small so all future travelers know what to look out for regardless of where they are headed for vacation, from Alaska to Zambia.