Content Warning: Harassment

The disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard as she walked home alone from a friends house resonated with women across the country. Vigils were held in every major city and an unfathomable amount of social media posts proved to the masses that all women have experienced some kind of harassment or assault at the volition of men.

In a poll taken by over 450 Bristol Uni students who identify as women, 91 per cent said they have felt unsafe while walking home in Bristol.

After the recent testimonies on a new website called Everyone’s Invited detailing sexual assault and harassment on University campuses across the UK, whereby Bristol University was mentioned in 37 testimonies in just one week, we are reminded that this issue has not gone away.

The Bristol Tab asked women at Bristol Uni about their experiences of feeling unsafe in our city. They proved that harassment can happen whilst alone, in groups, on the bus, or surrounded by people, and that some behaviours within the male community need to change to make women feel safer.  Here is what they had to say:

Eve, Post Grad Law: ‘I knew they knew I was crying’

Liu, Economics: ‘I press 999 in advance if I feel the situation is not right’

Liu told us about a time where she was studying late at the library, and a bus driver, whom she trusted to take her to her stop safely, asked for her phone number and asked her out. She was alone on the bus.

“At first, I asked him the departure time, and he didn’t tell me. Instead, he kindly asked me my phone number and name and said ‘I can text you once the bus will depart’.

“Then, he started going one step further. He offered me to go out with him – even not using the word “offer”, he wanted to “take me out”. I was so confused and double-checked what he meant by that. He gave me some options – parks, restaurant or his house.

“My English is not good at that moment, but I can feel his intention. I got off that bus as fast as I can. After that, I called 101 tell them his phone number; I contacted First Bus as well, to report him – the First Bus said they will take action, like suspension or change his shifts time.

“That is the reason why I was so scared walking that short distance to home. I can’t do it – I run; I tried to get home before the sunset; I memorised the 24-hour consular protection and assistance phone number of our country embassy in the UK; I press 999 in advance if I feel the situation is not right. Moreover, the lesson I learnt is never give a stranger phone number”.

Rosa, History Graduate: ‘It scared me that he knew he could scare girls because he was a guy, and was in a group, and it was late’

“I was walking home from Beacon House last year (2019/2020) up Whiteladies Road. I had stayed to do work in Beacon late and it was about 10 when I walked the short route home. I was walking alone down the pavement and walking towards me was a big group of male students. I moved over slightly when I saw them and looked straight ahead so as not to catch their eye.

“As the group of men passed by one of the guys stepped out of the groups way right into my personal space and so that he was directly in front of me. He yelled something really loudly and angrily right in my face and then laughed, they all laughed and he dipped back into the group and the group carried on past me.

“It happened really quickly and I don’t know what he even said, but it was really obvious to me that he had intended to scare me, that he knew it was dark and I was alone.

“Being yelled at by strangers with no provoking is scary enough, but it scared me more that he knew he could scare girls because he was a guy, and was in a group, and it was late. It just made me feel that this guy who I didn’t know was really aware of the ‘power’ he felt he had in that situation, enough so as to purposefully scare me for his fun.