A CONCERNED mum has set up a group for women travelling home alone after her daughter was harassed while waiting at a bus stop.
Amanda Copeland, from Saltdean, has set up a WhatsApp group to allow women travelling home to pair up so they can travel together.
The group is open to women of all ages from the Rottingdean, Peacehaven and Saltdean, who feel vulnerable when travelling alone.
It was set up after Amanda’s 18-year-old daughter Amelia Rushworth was harassed while waiting for a bus home in the centre of Brighton.
Amelia, who is studying for her A Levels at Bhasvic, said: “I was just out with my friends having a few drinks.
“I headed to the bus stop at around 10 pm and I was only waiting there for around ten minutes, but it all happened in that time.
“At first I was approached by a group of men asking me lots of questions like ‘what’s your name?’, ‘what school do you go to?’ and things like that.
“I just told them I was just trying to get home and I didn’t want to answer their questions but that’s when the name calling started.
“I was then approached by another two guys. One of them made a comment when he walked by and another would not leave me alone and kept offering me drinks and asking me to go to a party with him.
“The whole situation was very intimidating. All I wanted to do was get a bus home.”
Amelia shared her story to a Facebook group ran by Reclaim These Streets – a female-led campaign group that was set up following the death of Sarah Everard.
The post attracted hundreds of comments and likes, Amelia said this shows how many women have suffered similar experiences.
She said: “The reason I wanted to write something about this was because it was a situation so many women can relate to.
“I was just waiting for a bus and it proves you don’t have to be in a really unusual situation for this kind of thing to happen.
“It can happen in the middle of the day, it can happen to girls wearing their school uniform or when you are maybe a little vulnerable after a few drinks, but it’s never OK.”
Amanda says she is “proud” of her daughter for speaking out about her experiences and was keen to find a means of preventing other girls from finding themselves in a similar situation.
So far, 20 women have joined the WhatsApp group.
She said: “The way that Amelia described it with all the fear and suspense, it was really visceral.
“One thing I have noticed after setting up the WhatsApp group is that many people who expressed interest were mums looking for a way of ensuring their daughters were safe while trying to get home.”
To find out how to join the group, contact Amanda Copeland on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hulme341
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