No child or person should have to experience being harassed, yet so many do.

When it happens to you, it makes you realise how terrifying the situation really can be and how unfortunate it is that people still have to deal with harassment.

On the first day of our summer vacation, my sister and I waited at a bus stop after a day out to go home. After sitting there for a while, an older man walked up to us and attempted to make conversation.

Aside from a typical “good afternoon”, we did not respond as he continued to attempt to talk to us, as we quickly realised he was drunk or was otherwise unstable.

The attempts to speak to us began to turn into inappropriate comments about our appearances, and as a 15-year-old with my 14-year-old sister, it was truly disturbing to be approached in this way by an adult.

Having not had to deal with a situation like this before, I was unsure of what to do and scared of what might happen if the man became any more threatening.

I was relieved to see a bus pull up, but the feeling went away when the man followed my sister and I aboard.

We took a seat near the front of the bus, and the man sat across from us, continuing to look at us and make us uncomfortable. He became aggressive towards other passengers, and I was incredibly scared before I made the decision to ask the bus driver to get the man off the bus.

The driver realised the severity of the situation, and after asking the man to stop repeatedly, put him off the bus as he continued to yell at the driver and hit the side of the bus. I was grateful for the driver’s intervention, and lucky, as other people may not have taken the action that he did.

It is upsetting to know that harassment is a regular occurrence, and that many people experience it on a much greater scale than I did.

It makes me angry that adults, whose role it is to protect children, act so inappropriately and set this example, then wonder why young people think it is acceptable.

That man or any other harasser’s behaviour should never be excused by people saying “unfortunately that is just the world we live in today”. People should not excuse that behaviour, but work towards a world where it is unacceptable and where teenagers and children can safely use public transportation.

Now that summer is here and young people like myself will be travelling around the island more often, I encourage everyone to learn the safest way to handle harassment and to know how to protect themselves against potential dangers. I would hate for anyone to experience this and have the same feeling of not knowing what to do that I did. No one should have to experience being harassed, but knowing how to control the situation is incredibly important.

• No names have been used in this piece to protect the identities of those involved

Dealing with strangers

• Always take a friend so that you’re not alone

• When waiting for a bus, try to stay with a group

• Say no to hitchhiking

• If you’re being followed, call 911 or find help

• If someone tries to take you somewhere, yell for help

• Check with your parents first before you go anywhere!

• Trust your gut. If you’re scared, find help

What is sexual harassement?

If you are made to feel uncomfortable or concerned, it is sexual harassment. Harassment can include:

• Unwelcomed sexual advances

• Request for a sexual favour

• Any unwelcome verbal of physical things in a sexual nature

• Offensive remarks about a person’s sex

• Who can help: if you have been affected by sexual harassment or abuse, registered charity SCARS (Saving Children And Revealing Secrets) can help. Contact them on 297-2277. Also, the Centre Against Abuse, another registered charity, provides support and intervention, and offers a 24-hour hotline: 297-8278.