25, 2011
I was out with a friend for drinks for the first time having a baby. Walking down the street there was an army of lads walking towards us and taking up the whole pavement. My friend swerved into the road to avoid them but I walked on, expecting them to make space for me but instead they surrounded me, made sexual remarks, and one of them grabbed my breast. I felt particularly violated because I was breastfeeding at the time, but it’s such a violation anyway. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to report it to the police but there happened to be a police officer at the end of the road so I told them what had happened. They didn’t pursue the men but they were sympathetic and made me feel heard and justified in my outrage. They contacted me a few days later and said they’d checked CCTV but of course they weren’t identifiable. I was satisfied that they’d followed up with me but ultimately there’s not much hope of this type of harassment or assault actually being tackled.