A misogynist thug launched a sickening verbal attack on a young woman on her way home from university - leaving her shaking and crying. The student, who asked not to be named, was terrified.
She captured a number of videos of the incident, which the Manchester Evening News has seen, but is not publishing to protect her identity. The woman said she was targeted during her journey home at around 3pm on the 42C bus on April 17.
Police are investigating.
A man is heard in the clips calling her a 'b***h', before going on a sickening tirade, calling women 'psycho freaks' and 'corrupted muppets'. The woman was forced to get off the bus early, before reporting the incident to police when she got home.
She claims she was initially told it was 'probably a one-off incident'. GMP closed the investigation the next day, but has now told the M.E.N. it has since been reopened.
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The victim said the man uttered 'I hate women', before starting on her. "I was quite frightened," she said.
"He called me a b***c and said 'I'll come and kill you'. The bus was silent apart from this guy.
"He was sort of rapping in between. It was very weird. I was starting to get a bit upset. I was just disheartened because nobody was standing up for me."
The woman said she didn't engage with the man, facing forward with headphones on. He reportedly asked her why she looked so scared.
"Eventually I got off the bus three stops before my actual stop because some other girls asked me if I wanted to get off with them," she added. "I got off the bus and burst into tears. I was shaking as I got off.
"It was just upsetting just hearing that amount of hate spouted at you out of nowhere. He was so angry at me that if I even looked him in the eye he would have gone for me."
The man is heard in the footage saying: "I haven't met a smart woman yet, I haven't met a genuinely empathetic woman yet, they're all just psycho freaks wanting to manipulate others for their own appeal. They're just socially utterly corrupted muppets, mate. That's what females are."
The vile bully said 'biologically' the 'female brain' was 'shaped to not fight for food, but to manipulate men's sexual desires for food', making them 'more compatible with sadism and manipulation'.
In a statement, Stagecoach bosses said they were 'deeply disturbed' to learn of the incident, insisting the safety and wellbeing of passengers was their 'absolute priority'.
"We would like to express our sincerest apologies to the customer for the distress caused," they said in a statement. "While incidents of this nature are thankfully rare, they will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
"We want to remind our customers that if they experience any form of harassment while travelling on our buses, they should immediately inform the driver. Our drivers are trained to handle such situations and can radio for police assistance if necessary. We also have CCTV on board our buses which can be saved and used to assist in any police investigation."
A spokesperson from GMP said: “Greater Manchester Police launched an initial investigation after a report of a verbal incident causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress on Latchmere Road on Monday 17 April 2023. Unfortunately enquiries at the time were unable to identify a suspect, but since this it has now been reopened for further investigation. No arrests have been made at this time.
“As always is the case, if new evidence comes to light, officers will take action to fight, prevent and reduce crime and this can be done by ringing 101 quoting log 2244 of 17/04/23.
"Greater Manchester Police is committed to investigating allegations to secure the best possible outcomes for all involved and will continue to work with victims to ensure individuals are supported throughout investigations and beyond. If you think you may be or have been a victim of a crime, please come forward and continue to report it."
TfGM’s TravelSafe Partnership Manager, Kate Green, said officials were 'working hard' to make sure everyone feels safe using public transport.
“Everybody should be able to make their journey without being intimidated, harassed or abused and I’m sorry to hear of this incident," she added. “It is something that the TravelSafe Partnership takes seriously and I would encourage anyone who sees or experiences this type of behaviour to report it to us as soon as possible.
“I would also stress that there is extensive CCTV coverage across our bus, train and tram networks and we will not hesitate to use this to support police in identifying and prosecuting offenders.”
There are several ways to report incidents to the TravelSafe Partnership. When travelling on the bus, please make the driver aware if you feel safe to do so. On Metrolink, you can report incidents to staff in person or by using one of the help points that are available on all trams and stops. Incidents can be reported to police by calling 111 – or 999 in an emergency – or discreetly through GMP LiveChat, where you can talk directly with a GMP call handler.
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