I used to take the train to work. One beautiful sunny Friday I was waiting for the train and a man came up behind me and put his hand up my skirt. I was so shocked but so furious that I turned around and told him what he did wasn’t okay-he mostly laughed. Seeing his laughter only made me angrier and I screamed that he needed to stay the fuck away from me. This got the attention of many people around me. An older woman around me watching the whole thing shouted to me, “You did the right thing!” The man who grabbed me started to get real nervous saying “I thought you were someone else” and the older lady helped me to report the incident. By this point I was in tears as I was having flashbacks from a previous sexual assault which included someone who I thought was a friend. The older woman just hugged me and told me I was gonna be okay-I didn’t even know her. She gave me hope that what I was doing was right. Even further, as the man who grabbed me started to flee the incident, another man who saw the event helped track him down. Seeing so many strangers on my side, an older woman and even another man and even the police who came to help really made the difference. I still haven’t been able to build the courage to get on the train again and I still get upset at what happened but knowing others were out there on my side,strangers even, has been helped me get through it. Anyone who might be afraid to report their incident, know that there are people on your side, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.I know that’s how it felt for me the first time but know that what you are doing is right.
