Nicole, aged 22
2016
During my employment here, there were many inappropriate times but the one that really stuck out to me was when I had been grabbed by the wrist by some man who was really drunk as I was collecting glasses.
He was slurring his words and wouldn’t let go when I politely asked, I felt scared and tried to pull my wrist away from him and his grip got tighter until it started to really hurt. I pushed my wrist into his chest and yanked my wrist away from his as fast as possible and walked straight up to security who said they saw everything.
He was, either (according to three rumours I heard that night), a millionaire, a professional boxer or a professional wrestler, and much to the security’s and owner’s knowledge, they allowed the customer to stay even when asking for them to be removed because as the bouncers gestured to me, *rubs fingers*, they were making the bar money.
This is also the same place that when I reported a racial slur by a customer (“do you even speak English?”), to the owner, they did nothing and said something to the effect of “that’s life”, like I’ve never known what racism is and that it’s okay to dismiss because that’s life and have to get used to it for another 20 years. The same customer then groped me on his way out and said “I was only joking by the way”.
Basically hurt by men, witnessed by men and done nothing by men.