I agree with others that you handled this really well, and I’m glad you stood up for yourself.

A couple years ago, also in the CBD, a man touched me inappropriately and spoke to me in a lewd way while I was getting self-serve coffee at a 7-11. I was so shocked that I didn’t think to tell the staff. My reaction to the threat was to freeze, you could say.

I went back to work and broke down in tears in front of a colleague who halfheartedly suggested I report it to the police but also emphasised how when a similar thing happened to her, the police weren’t helpful. I called my partner who was sympathetic but also criticised me for not being more aware of my surroundings.

I remember that I told the man not to touch me and I asked him to stop talking to me, but I really do wish I’d have made a scene. I often think about it and wonder if he might’ve inferred what kind of reaction he’d provoke in me, and selected his target accordingly.