Women are being harassed in public places

Sir, – Last week I was at the bus stop and a man came and sat next to me (closer than it was strictly necessary for two complete strangers). He said hello and I said it back out of politeness, but then he started to ask me questions. He asked if I was alone, and if I wanted to go on a date with him. My answer was straightforward and left no room for doubt: “I’m not interested, I don’t want anything to do with you.”

Not happy with this reply, the man (that was about 50) kept talking to me, and I started to feel uncomfortable. I got up to get away from him, but he followed me and kept insisting. At that moment I did not know what would become of me, because we were in the middle of nowhere, near the motorway, and it was just me and him. My bus wouldn’t come in another 15 minutes. There was no one around to help, so if the man became violent I was most definitely doomed. Luckily a father showed up with his son, and I walked to them. The creepy man had the nerve to follow me, and I snapped at him to leave me alone. At last he got the message and went away. A part of me said I should feel relieved the situation didn’t get worse, but all I could feel in that moment was anger and frustration. I was there minding my business, so why did that random stranger feel entitled to force his unwanted presence on me? Why couldn’t he listen to me when I told him no? Was it that hard to understand? Sadly, this is an occurrence that many women (and what’s worse, girls) have to face in their daily lives. What world do we live in that allows this situation to become normal?

What world do we live in that doesn’t lift a finger to make women feel safe and instead tell them it’s their fault, because they were dressing, acting, speaking or walking in a certain way? – Yours, etc,

ELENA CLAVO,