Australian Women Are Tweeting About All The Times They’ve Been Groped On Public Transport
Because apparently some people think women experiencing sexual assault is "straight up fantasy".
Australian women are tweeting about all the times they’ve been sexually harassed on public transport in this country, in a grim flood of responses to some idiot claiming it just doesn’t happen.
Yesterday afternoon, a conservative writer had the gall to respond to an article on sexual harassment on public transport with the blanket statement “men don’t grope on Australian trains. This is straight up fantasy”.
Men don’t grope on Australian trains. This is straight up fantasy. https://t.co/GB2uzGYxVM pic.twitter.com/IQMHLAmC2l
— Claire Lehmann (@clairlemon) April 17, 2018
Unfortunately for assault and harassment survivors everywhere, that’s simply not true. Feel free to peruse the data if you need convincing: late last year, Victoria Police had to launch a unit dedicated solely to investigating sexual assaults on public transport due to a significant increase in reports.
Meanwhile, a crowdsourced mapping project conducted last year by Plan International and Monash University collected hundreds of stories of sexual harassment on public transport around the city, and a similar project has just been launched to gather data in Sydney.
Naturally, people who’ve experienced sexual harassment or assault on Australia’s public transport were pretty pissed off about someone swanning in to dismiss their experience, and they’ve taken to Twitter to correct the record with their stories.
Here are just a few of those:
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Men have followed me off Sydney trains, groped me on Sydney trains, masturbated in front of me (twice when I was a high school student) on Sydney trains and verbally abused me on Sydney trains. https://t.co/dI0mVcdnNg— Gina Rushton (@ginarush) April 17, 2018
Hi mate i’ve been groped three times while taking a cityrail train. once on a train, once on a train platform, once at the front entrance of a station. All three were reported to police. The most recent was the one that was on a train, I could get the CCTV footage if you like. https://t.co/OC6ueceRzE
— an aldi christmas (@anton_labae) April 17, 2018
Claire Lehmann is wrong to dismiss these claims just because she doesn’t believe them.I am an oldie now but from puberty on I always travelled around with one eye on my safety, trains,the bus,walking, no space was too public for men to comment,chase & harass me, even several Drs
— Elizabeth Marr (@JmarrMarr) 18 April 2018
Ah.. the privilege of never being assaulted. Not all of us are so lucky..
— Jessie (@melanchomical) 18 April 2018
FUCK YEAH I’VE BEEN GROPED AND WANKED AT AND FLASHED ON SYDNEY PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND I’M A SIX / SIX AND A HALF AT BEST SHUT UP IDIOTS IT HAPPENS WHY ARE YOU EVEN FIGHTING THIS ANYWAY
— Nadine von Cohen (@nadinevoncohen) April 18, 2018
Considering I’ve been sexually assulted whilst pushed up against a wall, yes men do grope, and when I told this man to stop VERY clearly and loudly, nobody on the carriage did anything.
— Alisha Parker (@leish_parker) 17 April 2018
awww facts don't care about your feelings @clairlemon !!! pic.twitter.com/LWKd2GXDYx
— lucy valentine (@LucyXIV) April 18, 2018
Hey Claire. Nice try. I have been felt up on multiple occasion, although it was on a tram so perhaps it’s different in your mind? What about when i was 14 and running for a train and two men pinned me against a wall to make sure i didn’t catch it. You’re a straight up idiot.
— liv (@tweetsinthetub) 17 April 2018
And that’s just a sample — the sheer number of people responding with their stories is overwhelming, and saddening. Hopefully they’ll generate some empathy from previous cynics, and maybe help us make some progress towards safer cities.
If you also have a story to share, consider contributing it to Plan International’s map of safe and unsafe spaces for women in Sydney. Contributions can be completely anonymous, and they’ll help to shape recommendations for lawmakers on where greater safety is desperately needed.
And if you haven’t experienced harassment on public transport, try just saying that, instead of speaking for the rest of us.