Last week, Pina Charlotte, from Berlin, shared a post to her Facebook.
In the post, she explains how she was on her way to go climbing in a park in Berlin when she was assaulted by a man:
The S9 train had just arrived. A group of guys (18-21) came out of one of the doors, one of them separated himself from the group, without me really noticing – why should I have? But seconds later, I felt a strong smack on my bottom and it being pinched.
The guy ran away, while Charlotte was still standing at the ticket machine.
Shocked by what had happened and unable to keep quiet, she spoke up.
It's pouring out of me ..."OK, guys, let's talk then! The whole train can happily hear this too! Which of you mama's boys goes round pinching women you don't know on the butt?"
"What's important is that I said something," she said.
I can't remember exactly what I said after that. Something like "disgrace to men", "no respect", "disgraceful", "you feel tough in a group" and "you should feel ashamed."
The post received an immense amount of support on Facebook. People praised Charlotte for her bravery, with many commenting that they would not be able to do the same.
She wrote that, following the event, she got nods and thumbs-ups from people on her train. She said that two women, independently of each other, came to her and expressed their appreciation.
She said in the post that she shared her experience in the hope of empowering others to do the same:
I might not change these lousy examples of misjudged manliness, but society is changing. We are changing it. And I have the hope that maybe my daughter grows up in a few years' time without wondering whether a tummy T-shirt will degrade her into an object in the eyes of some men.
BuzzFeed News asked Pina Charlotte for a statement but has not received any response yet.
This post was translated from German.