Kaitlyn Regehr: Woman sexually assaulted on bus finds man who defended her against attacker

“Please, let's all endeavour to 'say something'," urged Ms Regehr

Kaitlyn Regehr with Firat Ozcelik (Facebook/Kaitlyn Regehr)

A woman was sexually assaulted on a bus has tracked down a man who defended her, after launching an online appeal.

Kaitlyn Regehr, 30, a writer and filmmaker, was on-board a 207 bus in London when a man grabbed her.

A fellow passenger then defended Ms Regehr, “insisting it was not acceptable”, she wrote in a Facebook post.

To the man on the 207 buss towards Acton last night (the tall, dark, and dapper one with the beard), Thank you for...

Posted by Kaitlyn Regehr on Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Wanting to thank the stranger, Ms Regehr launched an appeal on Facebook to help track him down.

She wrote: “To the man on the 207 buss towards Acton last night (the tall, dark, and dapper one with the beard)

“Thank you for saying something when that man grabbed me. Thank you for insisting that it was not acceptable."

“Most of all, thank you for asking him about the women in his life, his mother, his sister... You said, “She could be your sister. She is someone's sister”, and in doing so you made me a person. You made us a community.

“Please, let's all endeavour to 'say something', please share, and please help me find this awesome dude so I can buy him a pint!”

Ms Regehr has now shared a photo of her beside the man who stood up for her on the bus.

“Last night, I got to meet and thank this Good Samaritan and all round awesome dude - Firat!” she wrote on Facebook.

Last week I made a post in order to find a stranger who stood up for me on a bus. Last night, I got to meet and thank...

Posted by Kaitlyn Regehr on Thursday, 15 October 2015

She went on to thank all those who had shared her story, as well as the Metropolitan Police.

“Most of all, I am grateful the many who shared their own stories. In this way, the post went far beyond one person speaking out for another in the microcosm of a 207 bus towards Acton.

“It became an international and intersectional discussion. For that, Firat and I agreed, we are both very thankful."

She went on to urge others to “follow Firat’s lead” and stand up against sexual harassment.