Hi!
I just want to share my street harassment story. It was the end of my shift, exactly 5:30 when I arrived at the terminal. It was a Friday so I was already expecting that lots of people would be dying to ride a bus, since we have limited buses only. There is one baby bus but if it’s already full, it is your choice if you wanna ride- but standing, or you’ll fall in line and wait for the next one.
Since I was very eager and excited to go home, I just chose to stand up and ride that bus. I was in the middle of the aisle when the driver and the bus ticket collector advised me to go near the driver’s seat because many people would be standing and I might be uncomfortable if many men would surround me. Thinking that it was an act of concern, I went near the driver’s seat and stood up there. Suddenly, I heard the ticket collector talking to a man, looking at me. And then he said, ʺAsawa ho ng dirver yang nakatayo/ The woman standing is the driver’s wife,ʺ I was so humiliated because everybody looked at me. The driver is almost 50 years old, and I’m just 20. I looked at the ticket collector with a dim face, trying to compose myself. He looked at me, shaking his head and smiling. I took my phone, I acted like I was calling my boyfriend, just to somehow let them know that I’d be calling someone. He backed off. And then I talked to them ʺKuya, mahiya po kayo sa balat nyo.ʺ And then bumaba na ako. I felt so humiliated.
– Anonymous
Location: Coastal Mall/ Bus Terminal, Philippines
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