Female Sexual Coercion: How Vera Prokop Asante ended up with two finger-shaped bruises on her hip

My story, while not as jarring as others, still goes to prove the fundamental wrongness in our society.

Some years ago, I worked as a supervisor in a supermarket. Before I go on I should state that I'm not native to this country as it has relevance in this story.

One day, a sailor from one of the countries bordering mine came to buy some provisions before heading back to his motherland. Seeing as he could barely speak English, I volunteered to help out.

It immediately became obvious that the man had indulged in the ‘spirits’ prior to his excursion; that is to say he reeked of alcohol. The man's more sober companion left to make his own purchases while leaving me to handle his inebriated friend.

Initially I tried to lead the man to my manager's office, hoping that the manager would help deal with him. To my shock, my manager waved me off stating he had a meeting and did not want any interruption.

Trying to avoid causing a scene, I led the man round the shop in order to keep him busy and away from trouble. Here things took a turn for the worse. He began to make comments and suggestions about taking me to his hotel room.

When I did not prove to be receptive, he pinned me against a wall; on a staircase teeming with customers and staff. With will alone, I convinced him to let me go and managed to locate his mildly-apologetic friend. 

  

When they were gone, I approached another supervisor, an older woman who had witnessed the incident, and asked her why she did nothing to help me.

She responded that she, and the other staff thought I was enjoying the attention. I came out of that experience with a loss to my belief in humanity and two finger-shaped bruises on my hip.

About The Author:

My name is Asante Prokop Vera. I am a poet and aspiring writer. I post poetry on Deviantart and Deep Underground Poetry under the name cosmosalone200. My poetry can also be found on my Facebook Notes.