Bus Boys

\"Oh No, I think I looked at that man as I he looked at me. Now he'll think I can be approached.\"

Better sit still and hope some women get on at the next stop.

\"Oh No, he's making hismove . He'll find a reason to talk, to annoy me, to invade my space.\"

Pretend to be on my phone? Or listening to music? How about I pretend to bea foreigner?

No that will make him try harder to impress me!

What about if I get off at the next stop? No - he'll do the same and follow me.

Oh why am I, a 26-year-old woman travelling alone!

Well, why shouldn't I?

Why should a 26-year-old man travelling alone be allowed to frighten me? Why should I spend money taking taxis or using my own car to go everywhere? Why should I have to ask the bus driver to look out for me?

Why do some people think I shouldn't be brave and do a job which means I'm sometimes out late?

Equality?

I have to be careful in case a man overhears me on the phone and makes a comment., I have to make sure I don't glance at a man in case he gets the wrong idea. I have to be sure I don't wear clothes that reveal or exaggerate my body. I daren't smile for fear of a man seeing it and commenting.

Once I get off the bus, I have to move quickly under streetlamps in case someone's following me.

I have to be ready to dial a friend or dive into a shop to gain sanctuary when drunks walk by.

Tomorrow I'll add to London's pollution, smog, noise, and filth by driving my Suzuki - because I'm a 26-year-old woman who can't enjoy life BECAUSE she's a 26-year-old woman whom men find \"sultry\" or \"irresistible\".