The first time that someone harassed me I was 16 and the offender in around 80 years old. I was waiting on my buss listening to music and suddenly this old man is asking me something. I take out one of my headphone and listen what he got to ask. “Is this where the bus to … leaves” (I don’t know where he had to be anymore), so I answer and want to go back to my music, but he starts talking about the second world war and all his friends he has lost. I didn’t want to be rude so listen. I thought: “This is just a lonely old man who needs someone to listen to him once and a while.”

Suddenly his hand is on my leg and I start to feel uncomfortable, but didn’t knew how to react. This was the first time this happened to me. So I move away from him. He pretends it didn’t happen and goes further with his story. After a while his bus arrives and he says: “Oh well. That’s my bus. Care to join me?”

I tell him I didn’t. He keeps repeating his question a couple of times and tries to touch my leg again. I keep saying no. After a while I get sick of it and just leave. This happened 5 years ago and I still feel disgusted by it.

– anonymous

Location: Ghent, Belgium