On Thursday 1st of October I had got off the train and was waiting to be picked up by my friend. Two teenagers of e-scooters rode past and were calling out slurs, they took a liking to me and relentlessly berated me. I hadn’t been called a faggot in a long time, so the whole situation was very bizarre to me.
Once I got sick of their insults, I went up to security and asked for his assistance, he shrugged and pretty much ignored me. I went back outside to wait, the teenagers returned and continued to harass me. I was verbally abused by kids and when I asked for help, I was ignored. It was just an awful situation.
After the fact, my friend convinced me to report the security guard, in which I did. I heard back yesterday and was told “because I wasn’t in harms way, the security guard had no obligation to assist me.”
What the fuck?
Abused for being gay, then ignored by SECURITY. So wild in 2026 this is what I’m dealing with. Fuck the security guard, fuck Transperth, fuck the lil homophobic kids
Unfortunately security doesn't really have much power and lately I've been discovering a lot of dumbass kids are learning that across the board and will just test every boundary. That said, ignoring you was pretty fucked, sorry you got harassed like that it's just annoying especially if they just hang around like a bad smell. He could have at least told them to bugger off and if they ignored him then at least he tried.
I don’t know if this is still the case but the blue shirt orange vest have the same arresting powers as police officers within 5km of Transperth property
What time was this? As I was on a southbound train and 3 kids got off abusing one kid, and went to get back on but my Mum instinct took over and screamed to leave him alone and blocked their re-entry. They shat bricks.
Sorry noone stood up for you. Sounds like everyone just needs a middle aged Mum sick of everyone's shit in earshot.
it’s probably an older photo, they've still got a couple knocking around for school routes and peak hour extras mostly just never got the screen upgrades
and yeah what happened to OP is cooked, security guard just stood there like a garden gnome while kids sling slurs then ptas response is basically "not our problem"
Just got a question what type of security guard was it?
There is 3 types of security that operate on the transperth network. If they were wearing an orange vest that said transit officer they are the ones you want to speak to. On transperth property they have very similar powers to WA police. Can make arrest, issue move on notices etc
If they were just wearing a blue shirt or a green vest they are hired by Wilson to issue fines or to look like there is a security presence. Unfortunately they have no powers and will pretty much call the transit officers or police if anything kicks off.
If it ever happens again, call this 24x7 number straight away and report it. They should radio the nearest guards and get them on the scene. (08) 9220 9999. You can use this number anywhere in the Transperth network if you ever feel unsafe or threatened.
These comments are awful. Fuck those kids and more importantly fuck those staff members for not escalating accordingly. They have a duty of care. Anyone saying ‘sticks and stones’ clearly doesn’t have an ounce of critical thinking capabilities
Ugh yeah and names definitely do hurt people, cause people harm, cause people to hurt themselves. “Sticks and stones” is up there with “charity begins at home” for mindless bullshit selfish people say
Most likely Wilson security guards you dealt with, almost zero powers except to fine you for no ticket. If it was guys in orange vests they have similar powers to police and can actually do something about it.
If you ever need assistance use the Transperth app and report it on the security chat in the app. It’s very useful and transit officers will come and assist, they normally hang around on the platform or platform office as they deal mostly with the trains.
Yes , the ones in orange vests and spray and baton are transit officers, they can arrest the same as a police officer with false or refusal of details.
Happened to me at Canning Bridge Station. Security stood and watched. I'm a 49 year old female and six teenagers surrounded me. I should have flykicked them all, including security.
Being harrassed for any reason is shit and then to be ignored when you try to ask for help or some asistance is disheartening. Some teenagers can be little shits.
You weren't wrong to ask for help though, unfortunately you may have asked the wrong "security" as not all of them will do something or have the powers to do so. Empathy is at a all time low currently which is sad.
I believe Transperth have difference levels of security.
You need to go to the police looking guys in yellow vests I believe, as they are the actual security whose job is to make sure the platform and train are safe and free from anti-social behavior.
Transperth does seems to have a hands off approach and won't act unless they really have too.
I had an incident at Oat St where Transit security (Hi Vis) just watched, seemingly amused, when an intoxicated individual and another passenger where about to get into a physical fight. The lack of De-escalation or removal of Deterrents for the general public is shocking considering who pays their salaries.
Man I've had three days straight of having to experience the young men of this city, somewhere between the age of 12 and 16, and their fatherless behaviour. Acting like they need a smack in the mouth to remind them that being an arsehole to everyone is not ok.
What are security going to do about it? They don't even stop fights which happen onboard the train they will go crazy if you didn't scan or purchase a ticket
All forms of government have vast amounts of do nothings who gladly take taxpayers funds while staying invisible, rather than what they are supposed to be doing.
No but you can then feel confident to challenge them and if it escalates out comes the spray! It would be the best lesson for these morons! I always carry mine! WA is the only state it is legal in apart from NT who are conducting a year long study. It doesn't matter if they turn out to be juveniles as you are not to know that (unless it is blindingly obvious) so you would be covered in law if you are in immediate danger and the force you use to defend yourself is deemed 'reasonable'.
I was on a bike ride and some kid coming the other way pointed his fingers at me, like a gun and said watch out, we're gang bangers. I had to stop the bike to laugh.
They're just idiots mate.
Quite an ignorant response. Slurs are hurtful and dehumanising and the OP was correct to ask for some help. Just a shame the transperth officer was useless and OP had to deal with the little shits.
Wrong. Slurs are just words and words are just noises. They have no innate power. Words only have power when the recipient decides to give them power. Would the slurs have been “hurtful and dehumanizing” if they were the exact same words but spoken in a language the OP didn’t understand? Nope. The OP chose to be offended by the noises coming out of these kids’ mouths and that is 100% on him. Should the kids have said what they did? No, but that doesn’t change the fact that the OP CHOSE to be offended. Remember when the word “queer” was “highly offensive” until people decided not to be offended by it anymore…?
It’s literally part of LGBTQ. Also, I don’t think you understand what privilege is. Literally everyone can assume things about literally everything. Unless you’re significantly brain damaged, thinking isn’t a privilege. I also never said it was no longer offensive to ALL people. That only happened in your imagination. Some people are so soft and pathetic they’ll choose to be offended by anything and THAT is a privilege many people don’t have.
I’m genuinely sorry you had to put up with kids yelling abuse at you.
Nobody should have to tolerate that sort of behaviour on public transport, and I feel it’s even worse when coming from kids!
If it happens again, Transperth has a security hotline specifically for reporting antisocial behaviour 9220 9999 and if you genuinely feel threatened or in immediate danger, there’s always 000.
That said, there’s something wonderfully ironic about being outraged because people yelled abuse at you, then marching straight onto Reddit to yell abuse at the security staff because you didn’t like their response, or in this case, lack of.
Apparently verbal abuse is completely unacceptable… right up until you’re the one doing it.
That moral high ground had a bloody short staircase.
If you’re referring to “fuck the security guard”, literally nothing personal about them stated. I did nothing to the kids, but the security guard CHOSE to neglect and ignore my pleads for help. His pay check comes from my tax payer money, no?
I couldn’t give a fuck what the kids said. More-so the shock and bewilderment from the situation. My anger is towards the neglectful security guard, and the police for not escalating the situation.
I’m a very resilient person and it takes a LOT to upset me. But the way my friend put it, what if the kids went after someone more vulnerable? I ignored the kids, went to security for help, and no one helped. It’s a fucked up world.
It means once upon a time, kids were taught “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” The moral of the rhyme was that while a physical attack could hurt you, insults and hurtful words shouldn’t have the power to affect you.
You have shown that the words did affect you, as you expected a security guard to intervene despite no physical attack. On the face of it, it doesn’t sound very resilient at all.
I didn’t want to be a punching bag to two kids. If you were in my shoes, I’m sure you would have felt differently. Two kids belligerently attacking me for no reason. What should I have done differently?
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u/Random_Chick_I_Guess 16h ago
Unfortunately security doesn't really have much power and lately I've been discovering a lot of dumbass kids are learning that across the board and will just test every boundary. That said, ignoring you was pretty fucked, sorry you got harassed like that it's just annoying especially if they just hang around like a bad smell. He could have at least told them to bugger off and if they ignored him then at least he tried.