This incident occurred a few years ago, when I was living in Scotland as a student.
One day, I took the train down from Edinburgh to visit a friend in Lancaster. The coach I travelled in was relatively empty, and the scene was dominated by a boisterous group of 5 or 6 men who had clearly been drinking already and kept at it during the train journey. With very few people around and them being so noisy, I left to sit elsewhere but returned shortly before my stop to get my suitcase.
As I was passing the men to get off the train, one of them blocked my path and the group gathered around me, talked to and about me, made fun of me and touched my arms and waist. I tried to push past them, but they wouldn’t budge, so I just stood there silently, staring at the floor and hoping for it to go away. Eventually, I managed to get off the train, and burst into tears while still standing on the platform.
While I emerged physically unharmed, their behaviour felt threatening and humiliating.
