Indecent exposure

April

I was recently at a dance club with my friends and left to use the bathroom. In the back of the club is a VIP table which is next to the gender-free bathroom. I had to pee so I stepped into the line with two men. A man from the VIP table approached me. I have a partner, so I was not interested in flirting with anyone. He asked for my name and number. I politely refused to give it. He then accused me harshly of thinking I am too good to give him my name and number. I’d since forgotten about this incident – as so many others have happened since that, but at the time I was scared and furious. By the time he yelled at me, I was alone in the line and he was a big guy with a table full of friends behind him. Why is he entitled to my name and number and I am a bitch for not giving it. Do I not have a right to pee in peace because I am a woman he found attractive? Like I should feel guilty? Please. About 3 weeks ago I was walking with my dog and a teenage boy whipped his dong out at us and started going to town on himself. I already don’t feel safe in my neighborhood, as I am routinely leered at by old men on corners, but this was the last straw. It’s caused me to break my lease and decide to move to a safer but more expensive neighborhood. Luckily my landlord is a nice person, but it really is terrible that women not only have to suffer psychologically but also financially. I now have to pay moving costs, put down a deposit, pay more rent, etc. if I want to get harassed LESS OFTEN while these pervs can live wherever they wants and do as they wish. I called the cops on the flasher, by the way – they never showed up. SInce I couldn’t move immediately, I bought pepper spray so that I could burn his dong if he ever whipped it out at me again, since the cops weren’t going to do anything.

Ella

I was on my first solo travelling trip aged 21 and I’d gone to Canada (from the UK) thinking it was the safest place. I decided to go to the cinema in the city to fill my evening so I didn’t feel lonely. About ten minutes into the film, a man sat down in my row after seeing I was the only person sitting alone, without a male companion. He was behaving strangely throughout. I was so scared of what he might do that I stayed glued to my seat, eyes firmly on the screen but not watching at all. After about an hour of seeing him fidget and swear under his breath and make strange sounds with his mouth, I finally turned to look at him. His penis was out and he was masturbating violently. I lunged over the seats in front of me – he was blocking my exit out of the row and he knew it – and ran out to tell staff. By the time they got into the screen, he had run out the back exit. They were very supportive and kind but they didn’t call the police. It put me off travelling solo ever again. It put me off going to the cinema alone.