48 hours of harassment in Budapest

This weekend was a special one for sexual harassment. In the past 48 hours, all of the following have happened to me:

1) A group of man make kissing noises at a woman in a skirt. I am with my friends and (not too loudly) say, “Oh wow. A woman in a skirt. Never seen one before.” The men harass and follow us for a block.

2) I am walking with a male friend. A young man walks up to us and asks my friend if I am his girlfriend. Male friend says no. Upon realizing that I am un-owned, young man turns to me and says, “Hey Bitch. Can I cum on your face?” I stop walking, look him in the eye and say loudly and seriously, “What the fuck did you just say to me? That is not funny. It is NOT funny.” He walks away.

3) I get off a public tram in the middle of the afternoon. A man scans me up and down. I tell him to fuck off. He follows me down the street towards my house. I turn, stomp my foot and scream in his face: “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU NEED TO GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME NOW!” He shrugs and walks around me. I have to stop and wait for him to pass my house so I can go home safely. The street was full of people. Not a single person said anything at all.

Did I defend myself? I guess. Did it affect any of these idiots? Doubt it. But I shouldn’t have to do anything. I shouldn’t have to weigh defense against ruining my evening by making a public scene. I have a life that is mine and it goes outside. How dare anyone try to scare me back into my chilly apartment?

And by the way, I live in Europe. And I was wearing long pants and two sweaters in all of these incidents.

– Whitney

Location: Budapest, Hungary

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