spain

Jess

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.

Laura

I’m a student living in Spain on her year abroad. A week ago, I was having a lovely conversation with another female friend about feminism and sexual assault. We had a really productive discussion comparing our experiences in various countries and how we could change things. About 30 minutes later she went to the bathroom and I got ready to leave. As I was waiting for her to come back, a man who looked around 70 came up to me, grabbed me, and started murmuring things in my ear and licking his lips. I waved him off and just continued with my day. The people on the table next to me didn’t react at all. This is unfortunately not the first time this has happened to me and it will most certainly not be the last. In fact, this behaviour is considered normal for old mediterranean men. Hopefully something will change when that generation dies out, but for now I guess we’ll have to endure toothless old men touching us without consent in public a little longer.