I’m finishing up my Erasmus year in Spain. I had to go into uni for a class, and given it was around 29 degrees, I decided to wear a dress. By no means would I have considered it revealing: it shows no cleavage and is knee length.I was walking back to my building after my class and I open the building door and a man follows me in. I’ve not seen him before but I don’t know most of my neighbours beyond those on my floor. I wait for him to continue up the stairs while I sort out some post, but he stays in the lobby. I find this weird but head on up the stairs, and then I feel him start to feel me up. I turn round, pretty much going “what the fuck” and he gives me a surprised look and tells me to calm down; which of course only makes me more angry. I tell him to not touch me and to get out, he does so but looks at me like I’m crazy. As soon as I see the door close, I run up the stairs to my flat in tears. I text some friends and as I recount it, I begin to feel like maybe I overreacted or that I did something to provoke this. Even though my friends assure me that it’s creepy, it’s sexual assualt, and that I didn’t overreact at all, I still don’t feel comfortable labelling it as that and I’m now leaving the flat in long trousers. Intellectually, I know it was entirely his fault but I still can’t help feeling like I’m responsible.
