Imagine this. Geneva, Switzerland: Sabina and Jessica are running to catch a train. Once the girls reach the station they are bombarded by a group of eight to 10 adolescents. The boys start to harass both girls. A boy dressed in a leather coat pushes himself on top of Sabina and kisses her, but all she could do was try and push his face away. In the same instant, another kid creeps in from the side and snatches her purse. The boys start to separate the girls, making a circle around each of them, pushing and slapping them.
There are too many to count now and everything reaches a blur. Another hand reaches to snatch away Jessica’s phone. Finally, the train arrives but the boys are still holding onto them and have blocked any path toward the train doors. Somehow, there is a break and Jessica throws her elbow back and grabs Sabina, pushes her through the doors and into the aisle. By the time the girls look out the train window, two boys pop their heads in and reach out their hands — SMACK. Sabina gets hit across the face, and then Jessica gets hit in the face. Everyone on the train sits still and stares — there was not one word spoken.
Once the girls get off on their stop, they immediately try to report the incident, but they find no one in the train station. One woman behind a window says, “We don’t report that business.” The girls wait until the next day to find a police station. The first police station they find is closed, so they push the emergency button to speak with the operator who states, “It’s Sunday, we’re closed.” The operator tells them to go to the next city for another police station.
The girls find the second police station, and the man in the uniform says, “I can’t do anything. You have to wait ‘till Monday when the other police station opens.” Another police officer comes out, notices the girls are speaking English and says, “This is Geneva, we speak French here.” At this point the girls almost just give up until finally one of the policemen files a report.
Imagine now that Jessica has to take that same train where those same boys will be waiting, maybe not today but the next day. Imagine how we received responses such as “What would you like us to do?” from the police. What Jessica would like to think as institutions built and made for the purpose of justice, protection and security can greet a victim with a “Hello my name is officer ? are you OK? Please have a seat.”
This was my first awakening to what women may go through when reporting domestic violence or sexual harassment in the world. This is an international problem that can be found in any country, which is overlooked again and again. I would like to imagine that one day we could rely on these institutions to serve their purposes and that one day a woman could report these kinds of incidents knowing she made the right decision and could help prevent future victims from the same fate.
Sabina Chowdhury
psychology senior
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