I was traveling on a Liverpool Train heading back to university after a weekend back home, so I was a little nervous traveling on my own as I had my laptop bag and fear theft.
At one stop a group of men in their mid-20s (who’d obviously been drinking and had a night of festivities) got on and decided to sit in my seat section and talk to me. I feared that they would harass me but after some stern words from me they apologised and we actually had a nice conversation.
At the next stop, instead of leaving the station one of the workers stepped into my carriage and asked if I wanted them to leave. It turned out another passenger had seen the interaction and had reported them.
This gives me hope as often people ignore harassment happening around them, but this unknown passenger – instead of just leaving and forgetting about me – chose to protect me. So even though I had distilled the situation it still meant a lot that people were willing to step in.
And by seeing that people around judged their behaviour as inappropriate and possibly dangerous, the men apoligised again, and hopefully learnt a lesson about approaching young women on their own.
– Gina-ofthenorth
Location: Liverpool, UK
