I was walking to a club in Amsterdam with a group of six girls and a guy. It was approximately 2 a.m. I am 18 years old but I look younger, and I was wearing no make-up, a knee-length skirt and sneakers. My friend stopped in a shop to get a sandwich and I walked a few meters away from the group. A man passed by me, (he looked twenty-something) and told me something like ʺBaby babyʺ. I was pretty nervous and I answered insulting him, I basically told him ʺfuck youʺ loudly while walking back to my group of girlfriends.
I thought that was the end of it but the man followed me, looking angry, and started shouting at me. He said I was rude, that he only said ʺhelloʺ so I had no right to insult him, that it is normal and so on. I tried to explain that I was scared of him and he looked even more insulted and angry. All my friends told me to shut up, that answering was stupid.
One of my friends called the guy who was in the shop and only when the man saw there was a boy in our group he lowered his voice. My friends tried to bring up excuses like the fact that I was nervous and I ended up saying, ʺI’m sorry I didn’t mean itʺ to the gross man. He then told me I was lucky I was a girl because he doesn’t hit girls (how chivalrous!!!) and that if I were a boy he would have punched me. Then he told me ʺbitchʺ and walked away.
I feel so powerless because there is nothing I could have done against him, I did not want to put myself in danger. It is so unfair that men can say whatever they want to me and I have to keep quiet and ignore them. I also feel stupid for having insulted him, which was not a proper reaction.
– ZS
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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