Story 1
i was 14 and i was walking through a mall by myself at 12am after my shift at coldstone creamery lol and a bunch of men started whistling and meowing and getting really close to me and they kept asking me questions and i kept not answering until i didn’t know what else to do so i said “i’m only 14” and almost in unison they said “we don’t care” i was so fucking scared i didn’t know what to do and they kept talking about how i looked and how my body looked and what they would do i was on the verge of tears i was all alone in a huge mall i knew i couldn’t outrun them all i felt totally hopeless until a maintenance worker came up to all of us with a huge industrial broom in her hand, i thought she was going to yell at all of us for being in the mall after hours bc she probably thought we were all friends but instead she cursed all of them out in spanish, threatened to press a panic button on her belt and then proceeded to walk me to the basement garage and waited with me until my mom got there to pick me up she had a death grip on her cart the whole time and a face of steel she looked so strong and i just kept saying thank you and she kept saying not to thank her because she had to stop them.
that was the moment i realized women were the most important beings on this planet and we have to protect each other bc nobody else is going to, she didn’t even know me, we couldn’t even communicate that well because of the language barrier, she could have lost her job for waiting with me in the parking lot but she looked out for me when she didn’t have to, she had nothing to gain from it, i’m 21 now and i tell everyone this story even though it happened 7 years ago, what she did that night helped me form and shape lot of my beliefs early on.
Story 2
i was at a grocery store really late one night and some old guy kind of eyed me as i walked out of the store next to this other lady. She and I made eye contact and i knew she was scared too. we loaded up our groceries into our cars as fast as possible and I had way more bags than her so she got done faster than me. I panicked because i was sure she was going to leave so i just hurried faster, shaking a little, and then i noticed she sat in her car, watching me and making sure nobody came near. She waited not until all my groceries were loaded, or until my cart was put away, or until I got into my car. No, she didn’t drive away until I drove away.
And that was the moment that I realized how much women need other women. That we can’t win this war without each other and we have to be looking out for each other, every second.
Story 3
I was at a club once and my friend left with her boyfriend so I finished my drink and was heading out to the parking lot when three girls came up to me and basically surrounded me.
“Those guys behind us were talking about following you. We can walk with you.”
I have MMA training but have never in my life had been offered the protection and sanction of my own gender. This is so important.
Story 4
Once I was at an arcade with my friend and I saw some guy grab her butt and she shoved him off and then her grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away, but I ran at them and yanked her away from him and practically growled “get the fuck away from her” and he started me down for a solid six seconds as he debated on what to do before rolling his eyes and walking off.
Another time I was walking alone in the dark and a girl came up to me out of nowhere and asked if she could walk with me because there was someone following her and I agreed. He caught up to us and I noticed him so I asked where she lived and walked her home. That creep was hiding behind a bush watching her door and so I told him to get lost or I’d call 911. He ignored me and so I started to call 911 and he grabbed my phone and tried to take it away so I kneed him in the balls, smacked him over the head with a stick, and finished calling the police.Protect each other girls. Never be afraid to walk up to someone and say “hey he’s following me. Can I walk with you for a bit?”
This the way girls come to each others rescue in time of need. Whenever they see some thing wrong happening around with other girls they become a team and protect each other and that is what every girl should do instead of turning a blind eye towards the situation. Nobody will stand for us until we will stand for ourselves, our girls and protect them.
We need women safety and we won’t sit at home just because it is not safe outside. Administration needs to wake up and ensure women safety but when they fail to provide us with that let us stand together with each other, to protect each other.