Any woman knows all too well that even during the mundane act of commuting to work you can find yourself dodging unwanted sexual attention.
Over in New York City, the police department recently announced that sexual offences on the subway had shot up more than 50 per cent over the last year.
Women share their experiences of sexual violence on Twitter. Post continues after video…
In response to the alarming figure, the Huffington Post coined the hashtag #CommutingWhileFemale, encouraging women to speak out about their experiences.
The result is a disturbing glimpse into just how uncomfortable and dangerous a woman’s daily commute can be.
From the intimidating…
To the predatory.
From the downright perverted…
To the verbally aggressive…
And the violent.
There are the men who misread signals.
And then there are the measures women resort to just so they feel an element of safety.
And that sad realisation that you’ve accepted the behaviour as normal.
But then recognising that, actually, calling out your aggressor is an important act of defiance.
Because what is clear is that if you own a vagina and you travel on public transport, you will at some point be ogled at, catcalled or groped. And that is just not acceptable.
Top Comments
Heading into town on the train with my girl friends for a Halloween party. We were walking down to the other carriage and as we stepped past a group of young drunk guys sitting in their seats chatting, one of them shoved his hand up my skirt, groped, and laughed at me.
Luckily one of my friends was there to push him off and punch him where it would hurt until he let go. Before you say it, we know violence is not the answer but words weren't doing anything. None of his "mates" did anything to stop him either. #commutingwhilefemale
I'm not a big one for street violence, but I have no problems with your friend hitting that guy!
catching the first train out of central on a morning after a full night working on my bar job, fell asleep whilst sitting near the guards compartment and woke up to a man groping my breasts #commutingwhilefemale