As a college student, I roamed in Europe for a few months. In Amsterdam. a fellow was following me and of course identified me as American. He kept talking to me. Finally, Ahead of me, I saw people turning through a narrow passage, and a small sign identified it as an Anglican church. I followed them, but the fellow did not. It turned out, the passage led to a courtyard filled with daffodils, and an old old Anglican church. I hung out in there for an hour or more, glancing from time to time at the other end of the passage. When I no longer saw him by the street, peering through the passage, for a long time, I went back out. But, I returned two days later for their beautiful Easter service.

I was in DC one time waiting for the subway car and this fellow came up to me and started hitting on me...no matter what I said he wouldn't leave me alone...until I got on the train and purposely sat next to a largest man I could find. Then he left me alone.

Unfortunately, the safety pin idea never seemed to catch on, but I wore one for awhile. It was supposed to be a sign that people who were being harassed or verbally assaulted by racists/homophobes/xenophobes/sexists etc. could safely talk to you.

People realized with the safety pin anyone could use it who were not safe to talk to or be around or at least I hope they did because I seldom see it mentioned.

That's true maifleur...I never thought of how people could use the pin idea nefariously.

So ... when you're receiving questionable or unwelcome attention from one guy ... you approach a pinned one, who turns out to wear a similar stripe!

Here's hoping they square off against one another ...

... rather than gang up against you!

ole joyful

Now that I am old, I occasionally remember something that happened when I was about 12. We lived in a small town in northern BC. My mom had left me at the mall to spend the afternoon. We lived out of town, so this was a treat, I was sitting at a bench when a young woman sat next to me. She said that her friend, and she pointed to him, really liked me and would I like to go with them. I was so naaive, I actually thought about it but thankfully my common sense pervailed. They left without incendence but I cant help but wonder what would have happened if I had gone with them. . Scary,.

I took a livestream class about what to do if you see someone being harrassed on the street. They suggested intervening by coming up and giving the person a big greeting, call them by a name, say you haven't seen them in ages and insisting on immediately going for a cup of coffee to catch up.

I've also read that it's very important to ignore the harasser and just talk to the harassee.

There is also a hand signal for victims of domestic violence which, if you see, means get help: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/08/teenager-rescued-after-showing-domestic-violence-hand-signal-to-passing-motorist-police-say