Asserting, feeling safe and handling situations

Inspired by a thread in the Men's Clubhouse, this is on the topic of safety and how as women, we handle these types of situations in our day to day. Last week when I was waiting for the train, a guy in his 20's was randomly going up to people. He approached a young woman sitting near me and was commenting to her. She kept her gaze to the floor and tried to ignore him but he kept lingering beside her and making comments. I glanced over to see if she was okay. He then walked over to me. I was seated. He stood right in front of me, looked down, and said "Hey baby, wassup?" I stood up. It was like my actions were happening without me thinking about it but I was not going to be at eye level with his crotch and have him in my space. I stood in front of him and with a tone I rarely use, said "Ah, so you're a joker are you?!" He backed off and said "Yeah baby, I'm a joker.." and walked away, his friend following behind him. It was harmless but when I got home, I was still thinking about it. Maybe because I don't normally refer to someone as a joker and maybe because I was considering that I didn't know how he'd react. I googled and read a little about the psychology and it seems the way he was behaving meant he wanted control of the crowd, of movements and their space. When that was challenged even in such a small way, he'd lost that control. I read of other various, everyday experiences that were like this for women, and their thoughts that it's not okay.... which is great, yet I also didn't find many suggestions on what to do for us to become stronger and less intimidated. It does seem that women are taught to be polite and nice, and maybe that also plays a part in why some compromising scenarios occur? I guess we all have to assess a scenario and how best to handle it in that moment. I have been followed home by a man, felt intimidated, and experienced various moments that I'm sure most women can relate to. How do you handle these types of situations? What has worked well for you?

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