We’ve heard plenty of women share experiences of sexual harassment while commuting. But how do we act upon witnessing other women being harassed too?
On Tuesday (24 Dec), Hanan – who goes by the Twitter handle @hananfaizure – shared how she helped a woman on the LRT, who was being harassed, escape.
She shared the incident through a series of tweets which have gained 18K+ retweets.
Her tweet translates as:
Hi. I just saved one girl from sexual harassment in the train. Oh my God, that Indian was so scary. I couldn’t get a picture of him in time. But I was sure, that I saw what he was doing towards the girl.
When witnessing sexual harassment, especially in a congested space like an LRT train, we rarely know how to step in and help. So, let’s take some pointers from this smart lady.
The kind lady recalls how she helped a woman being sexually harassed on the train. While she was not able to take his picture, she was sure that he was harassing the poor woman.
Once she witnessed the terrifying incident, she was unsure of how to respond. She had read stories about harassment in social media, but she had never experienced it before.
The kind lady got an idea, she then pinched the girl’s back and showed her a note.
The note reads,
Hi, I want to help you. Let’s get off this train and we’ll take another one.
Both women alighted at Chan Sow Lin station in Kuala Lumpur, as the persistent perpetrator followed them.
It wasn’t clear from the tweets how they managed to get the man to stop following them. But once he left, the girl broke down and cried.
She initially thought a backpack was hitting her from behind and was terrified to discover it was a man’s erection instead. Hanan clarified that the man had not taken his shaft out, as it was still within the confines of his pants.
Hanan then reminded women to be alert in her thread,
Girls, please take care of yourself when riding a train or bus.
If you ever feel that something isn’t right, then check out the situation. Meanwhile, fellow commuters should help if they ever witness sexual harassment. Public transportation will be a lot safer if perpetrators are often called out in public.
Women should always be aware of their surroundings. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone at any time, so it’s best to be alert always.
If it happens to you, then do your best to escape.
The kind lady’s effort to help is a truly heroic endeavor. We hope that both men and women will help their fellow commuters if they’re ever harassed on the train. This way, the streets will be a lot safer.
Have you experienced sexual harassment? How did you handle it? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image from Flickr.
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