bus

Elena

In year 6 (UK) people from Transport for London came into our school to talk to our year group about staying safe on transport. One of the things they said that stuck with me was “on the bus, never sit on the window seat, because if someone takes the seat next to you, you won’t be able to easily get out of a bad situation. Never in my life have I sat alone in the window seat… I am a girl in year 10 now, I wonder how many of the boys my age have to know this… I wonder how many remember…

Lauren

A man kept pushing his groin against me when I was on the bus. While hiking and climbing up a ladder, a man above me pulled out his phone and tried to take a photo down my shirt. While walking down the road, because I glared at a man that was trying stare at my bum, he spat at me. While getting out of an elevator with only men in, one man started barking at me and the other men supported him. When I told a man at work that I was in a relationship to get him to back off, he told me that because it was long distance I should still sleep with him. When I spoke to my HR manager about the sexual harassment that was occurring regularly, they informed me that an email would go out to everyone about it and it would be discussed with all the staff. No email was ever said, or if it was, no department discussed it with the workers. When I went to the gym as a minor, men would adjust themselves to better positions to watch me exercise.

J

I’m 16 years old. I was going to school one day, taking the bus in NYC. I had my headphones in so I just took a seat at the back of the bus without paying any mind to who was in the seat next to me. Boy was that a mistake. The old man next to me asked me “Do you know why I let you sit there?” And I was of course confused, so I took out my headphones and said, “What?” He gave me a grimy smile and said “It’s because you’re so sexy.” I tried to face away from him and ignore him but he keep babbling on about my appearance and his life story. At one point he told me, “I love French girls. I can tell you’re French.” which really creeped me out, because I am actually French. My stop came and I got off the bus, and he called after me as I hurried off. It made me so mad that the women and men around me didn’t say anything. I’m a minor for christ sake. I was in a bad mood all throughout the school day.

Lucy

A few months ago I was on the bus going home from school and another girl from my school got on the bus. it was just another day, until my friend asked me to sit next to the other girl on the bus to make her feel safe. This is because the day before a creepy man sat next to her and asked her very inappropriate questions like asking what ants she was wearing. Then a few days ago, I saw the same man on the bus and even though he didn’t sit next to me or anything, I was panicking the whole journey that he would follow me home and I just thought how sad it was that even though nothing happened to me, I didn’t feel safe in a public area. Just saying to any other person, it’s ok to tell someone and it’s ok to make a scene because it’s not acceptable . EVER

thea

when I was 14 I got two buses to and from school. On my second bus home a man stared at me the entire way home, he never looked away even when I caught his eye. This happened every day for weeks. When the bus was packed and I didn’t get a seat, he would stand right up against me. One time I did get a seat and he sat beside me. he spread his legs as wide as possible and leaned against me until I was pressed up against the window. After that I never chose the double seats, I would always choose the single-seat behind the driver. He would hold on to the handrail either side of the seat so I couldn’t get out but it was okay because he got off the bus before me. When the bus was bumpy he would knock his body against the side of mine. Over the months he got braver and started stroking my sleeves or running his fingers through the ends of my hair. One time when I felt him do this I scowled at him and he said ‘you have very beautiful hair’ I looked away. One time I was sitting in the single-seat and the bus went over a bump and he grabbed my thigh for balance. I told my mum and she called the police even though I begged her not to. I didn’t want it to be a big deal. I didn’t want to have been sexually harassed. I wanted to keep thinking it was just an accident, it wasn’t real. A policewoman came to my house and took a statement the next day she came to my bus stop with me. I pointed out the man and she took him away in a police car. They released him on bail but he wasn’t allowed to get my bus anymore. Nobody told me what happened at the hearing. I probably didn’t want to know, I was just glad he wasn’t on the bus anymore. I do see him in town every so often. I’m 20 now.

Jessica

So… It’s not often you experience this kind of casual sexism from actual bus company employees. I was on my way home from university for the weekend and using the bus. I had changed my bag from my usual backpack to a hold-all so did not have my official University ID by accident. This became an issue as the ticket inspector required valid student ID with my ticket. This was resolved in the end as I realised I had remembered to pack my ISIC card. However, I feel that the inspector’s comments were inappropriate. He said: “oh you girls and your bags”. I found this very offensive as he suggested my not having the intended ID was due to a fashion choice and not down to the fact I had made a practical choice to pack my clothes in a larger bag for the weekend. This was after I explained the situation to him. I had a male friend present with me during this incident and felt the inspector was trying to gang up on me. Which backfired… I recently had a seperate run in with the man despite having both valid ticket and ID this time… He apologised to the male passenger next to me for the inconvenience of the exchange between us. Charming.

Freya

I was standing up, queuing to get off a bus once on the way home from school. The bus braked quite suddenly, and we all lurched forward. The man behind me fell into me, and his arm came around to my front- just for a second- but long enough for me to feel his fingers slip between my legs and grab at my vagina.

Shauna

I was on the bus and got some weird vibes from a guy who was getting on the bus. He was eyeing women on the bus and I could tell he was looking for someone to talk to. I put on my sunglasses, put in my earbuds, and took out a book to clearly communicate that I was not in the mood to chat with a stranger. He came and stood in front of me and said “hey what you listening to”. I ignored him. “What you reading?” I ignored him. “Not very friendly are you? Well fuck you, bitch”. He continued on to the back of the bus and started bothering another girl. I got off at my stop soon after but I still feel guilty that I didn’t stop him harassing that other girl.

Kat

I was only 16 when after a yoga class by mistake i took a wrong bus and to make a shortcut had to use a deserted underground to cross the motorway. i was listening to music on my headphones and as i approached the underground i saw i girl walking up the stairs with a shaken up look on her face, but i didn’t pay much attention to it. soon i realized what hat frightened the girl so much. as i descended down the stairs i was a tall, strong-built man with massive erection an a creepy look on his face, i turn of my music, and pretended i was talking on the phone ( i thought he wouldn’t approach me then, but i was wrong). without paying any mind to him i proceeded to walk past him when i heard a disgusting voice yelling “hay”, yet again i ignored him, so he said ” want me to fuck you? or you’re too scared it will hurt? ” i looked that man straight in the eyes and said ” no thanks” while i was trying to come up with ways i could defend myself against this huge man. he was shocked for a second so i took it as my queue to leave so i ran. Once i was on the street i got in the other bus and sighed with relief. However, my peace was short lived. The particular bus i took always got very crowded and stuffy, so when i felt a man press into my back i yet ignored it, though it was an accident but as i felt a warm and hard ” something” being not only pressed but basically humped into my ass i knew it was no accident. It was just a pervy old man with a moral of a stone. I was honestly shocked, thought that a universe was testing me and froze up, tried to move away but that bastard was persistent,so i elbowed him in the stomach and he backed off. I knew i had the right to scream at him or slap him and make a scene of any other kind, however, my twisted mentality took over and i didn’t say a single thing, afraid that i might make people on the bus uncomfortable. when i told my mum what happened she said to me ” well it sucks but what can we do, just make a scene next time and DO NOT use that underground, that place is known for perverts looming around”.