I considered putting this on the Sarah Everard thread but I think the debate there got a bit heated so maybe better to have a separate standalone thread.
Anyway, there have been two incidents recently in my local town which are causing a bit of a furore, both involving tween girls (age about 11/12).
In one incident, a man tried to persuade a girl to get into his van. She ran into a nearby shop and the staff there looked after her and called the police.
In the second incident, a man inappropriately touched a girl on the street. She asked him to stop. He didn't. Fortunately the bus then turned up and she got on. The man tried to follow her onto the bus, but as it was a bus for pupils only, the bus driver stopped him.
A couple of things to note. Firstly, I feel for these poor girls. Horrible things to experience and they must have felt quite scared. Secondly, the police response seems to be quite reassuring. They seem to be taking it seriously, have been interviewing people and taking witness statements, etc. Back when I was a teenager, this type of thing would have been laughed off and not considered important enough to waste police time, so there seems to have been some cultural improvement.
On the less good side, a relatively generic description of one of the men is now circulating on social media and there seems to be a bit of localised moral panic. People are now calling the police reporting neighbours and any man sitting on a bench who even vaguely fits the description. Which I'm not sure is entirely helpful.
My daughter is not yet old enough to walk to school by herself so there is little immediate impact for our family, but various classmates have sisters in the age group that is affected. It will be a real shame if this reduces their burgeoning independence.
Anyway, there have been two incidents recently in my local town which are causing a bit of a furore, both involving tween girls (age about 11/12).
In one incident, a man tried to persuade a girl to get into his van. She ran into a nearby shop and the staff there looked after her and called the police.
In the second incident, a man inappropriately touched a girl on the street. She asked him to stop. He didn't. Fortunately the bus then turned up and she got on. The man tried to follow her onto the bus, but as it was a bus for pupils only, the bus driver stopped him.
A couple of things to note. Firstly, I feel for these poor girls. Horrible things to experience and they must have felt quite scared. Secondly, the police response seems to be quite reassuring. They seem to be taking it seriously, have been interviewing people and taking witness statements, etc. Back when I was a teenager, this type of thing would have been laughed off and not considered important enough to waste police time, so there seems to have been some cultural improvement.
On the less good side, a relatively generic description of one of the men is now circulating on social media and there seems to be a bit of localised moral panic. People are now calling the police reporting neighbours and any man sitting on a bench who even vaguely fits the description. Which I'm not sure is entirely helpful.
My daughter is not yet old enough to walk to school by herself so there is little immediate impact for our family, but various classmates have sisters in the age group that is affected. It will be a real shame if this reduces their burgeoning independence.
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