"When I was about 10, I was on the tube with my parents. There was an old man sitting opposite us. He was smiling and making funny faces in a strange way, without my mum and dad seeing. After a while, my mum realised he was making me uncomfortable and warned him to stop. For a second he looked away but slowly started to look again. My parents felt uncomfortable too. When we got off at our stop, he waved goodbye and stroked my leg as I stood up."
"I was supposed to be ‘safe’ with my parents but he made me feel very unsafe, at such a young age. After speaking about it with therapists and psychologists, I realize now that it was an act of indecent harassment. I didn’t tell anyone about it as I was growing up but it had a huge effect on how I felt when travelling anywhere on my own. I am 26 now and his face still haunts my mind. It still pops up whenever I feel slightly unsafe, walking home at night, waking up with nightmares. Even though it was 16 years ago, it has stuck with me."
L. 26