"There have been a plethora of reported incidents over the past few months about the inappropriate advances of some men towards a woman/women, plus a few by a woman toward a man. The vast majority of these approaches, whenever they were committed and within whatever range of circumstances they occurred, were criminal; particularly any rapes, indecent assaults, inappropriate touching and sexual harassment. The overwhelming majority reflected offences having been committed from positions of one person wielding power over another.
I'm sure it happens today, that in some overcrowded situations, personal space will always run the risk of being violated and result in some necessary 'brushing past', some of which will have been contrived and some unavoidable.
I also worry today about dating etiquette between a man and a woman, and particularly where it extends into courtship. Who knows, apart from reading the obvious signs and being presented with a clear and unambiguous 'No' when the line is being overstepped for any proposed activity?
Ever since society started being politically correct about everything that incorporates any form of social interaction, I've never been quite sure how much of a gentleman to behave like in social situations. I have even known of highly independent women who have been offended and feel patronised because a man has held open a door open for them until they passed through first. I have also heard of similar offence been caused because a man has offered up their seat on crowded transport to a woman because they were standing up.
For over twenty years, I taught hundreds of groups of reserved people how to appropriately deal with embarrassing social situations, like complimenting a person they liked or were attracted towards, on their appearance. I'm not sure, if I was I running similar groups today, how acceptable my past advice would now be, had the person being appropriately complimented taken offence at the sheer effrontery of her admirer?
Put it this way, for a great deal of my life, riding horses was a favourite pastime, but there is simply no way that I would help a woman mount her horse today for fear of being all fingers and thumbs." William Forde: December 10th, 2017.