Harriet, aged 17, 2025
I was on the number 42 bus going towards Blackpool town centre when a drunk man got onto the bus and noticed me after he sat down. He got so close to me that he spilt his beer down my legs and I could feel his eyes darting towards my face and down my clothes. He grinned and told me how beautiful I looked. The more I ignored him the more tense and agitated he got and the more he tried to get me to notice him. He kept telling me how pretty I was and that I looked no older that 17 whilst winking at me. I was scared that if I kept trying to ignore him he’d get violent, and what made things worse is the bus was full of people, other grown men too, that watched and did nothing. The man told me I looked uncomfortable but kept his proximity staring me down, this lasted about 15 minutes until he finally got off the bus. What upsets me most is the guys in front of me finally turned around once he left and told me I shouldn’t have entertained it, when I was just trying to keep myself safe.