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I wouldn't normally take to social media to talk about something like this, but I thought it was worth writing a thread bringing attention to one of the ways women are harassed on a daily basis when you least expect it, based on my experience today...
Over the last few weeks my partner and I have decided to cycle to work. Today was the first day I had to cycle by myself, which I was nervous about as I'm not the most proficient on my bike to say the least! But after having practised the route a few times I went for it.
Half way through my journey three boys on bikes surround me. They start laughing at me and making me feel extremely uncomfortable. I panic as part of the journey involves going down some empty cycle paths and I just didn't know what their intentions were.
They were just young boys and probably found the whole situation funny. Eventually (probably bored with me ignoring them) they left me alone. But this has made me extremely nervous about future cycles. What if this had happened at night? What if they had been older?
What makes this all the more frustrating is the fact I had done this cycle numerous times in the past, and because I was accompanied by a male I was never once heckled. Yet the first time I've ever commuted alone, I was followed?!
This thread isn't for sympathy or anything like that, but to bring to light just another story of how women are unable to enjoy doing simple activities without some sort of threat. We need to keep educating people about this to hopefully make a change.
