Korean YouTuber Victim Shamed After Being Harassed By 2 Men In Mumbai During A Live Stream. Can We Let Men Take Responsibility For Their Actions?
Mumbai Police has taken suo motu action!
As a woman who has spent the majority of her life in Mumbai, I’ve always felt safe and secure here no matter what time of the day or night it is. But let’s be honest, as women we can never truly be safe considering the state of affairs in this world. It’s not like I haven’t been harassed or felt violated. While Mumbai might be one of the few cities where women can feel safe, women’s safety is always a major concern. Evidence in question is this recent case that has come to light. On Wednesday evening, a South Korean woman was harassed by two men in Mumbai’s Khar area. The woman is a YouTuber and was live-streaming when the incident took place. The video of the incident was shared on Twitter and Korean Youtuber also reacted to it.
The video of the incident was posted on Twitter by another user. The video shows the Korean YouTuber asking the man a question after which he grabs her hand and takes her to his scooty and asks her to go for a ride with him. The woman then refuses to go with him but he continues to insist that she get on the bike with him once. She gives him an excuse and says she’s wearing a dress and he agrees and says, “next time”. The man then puts an arm around her shoulder and waves to the camera and tries to kiss her when she was live streaming and some men around her can be seen smiling as the incident takes place. But the harassment doesn’t end there. The woman walks away, looks into the camera and says that it’s time to go home but just seconds later the accused man follows her on his scooty with his friend and offers to drop her home. He pleads with her to sit on his scooty “one time” after which the woman uses the classic excuse and says that her home is just around the corner. Take a look at this video.
@MumbaiPolice A streamer from Korea was harassed by these boys in Khar last night while she was live streaming in front of a 1000+ people. This is disgusting and some action needs to be taken against them. This cannot go unpunished. pic.twitter.com/WuUEzfxTju
— Aditya (@Beaversama_) November 30, 2022
Re-sharing the video, the Korean YouTuber shared that she was harassed by a man and she tried not to escalate the situation as he was with a friend. She went on to reveal that she was victim-blamed and told that the incident was initiated by her as she was being “too friendly” and engaging in a conversation with the man. Thankfully, soon after the video was shared on Twitter, Mumbai Police jumped into action and took suo motu cognisance of the incident and arrested the two youths for harassing the woman.
Last night on stream, there was a guy who harassed me. I tried my best not to escalate the situation and leave because he was with his friend. And some people said that it was initiated by me being too friendly and engaging the conversation. Makes me think again about streaming. https://t.co/QQvXbOVp9F
— Mhyochi (@mhyochi) November 30, 2022
Also Read: Woman Shares Ordeal Of Being Patronized For Her Disability While Being Cyber Sexual Harassed. What Even Are Men?!
Mumbai Police’s Khar Police station has taken a Suo Moto action in an incident that happened with a Korean woman (foreigner) in the jurisdiction of Khar West.
In this regard, both the accused have been arrested and booked under relevant sections of the IPC.
— मुंबई पोलीस – Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) December 1, 2022
TBH, the victim shaming really needs to end. No, it’s not her fault for being “too friendly” or having a conversation with a person of the other gender. Humans are known to be social animals and I believe social animals communicate with each other. So, what she was essentially doing was being human. Are women supposed to be aliens and not talk to others? Gone are the days when women were blamed for being molested or harassed. It’s time we start blaming men for what they do and let them take responsibility for their actions and suffer the consequences too.
Also Read: Swiggy’s Sexual Harassment Redressal Policy Ensures Female Food Delivery Execs Are Not Assigned To Perpetrators
It’s shocking how men think it’s okay to harass a female tourist while she’s on live stream and make a joke out of it. Part of it, I believe is because they think foreign women are “easy” and try to take advantage of it. What’s worse is that there’s little to no fear in these men. And what’s even more shocking is that the people around the woman stood by and smiled instead of stopping the man from harassing her including his friend who can be seen sitting behind him on the scooty. But Mumbai Police has once again proved that they’ll go the extra mile to ensure women’s safety in the city and as a woman, we’re truly grateful. I hope this incident serves as a lesson to such men and deters them from committing such crimes.
