A woman getting harassed on the streets and that too in broad daylight is a serious issue and the accused should be punished heavily in order to set an example for others.
A girl from Scottsdale, Arizona, was out for a run when she found out that a stranger was following her in a car. This incident happened last Tuesday and the victim McKenzie Smalley shot a video of the entire happening in selfie-style and uploaded on Facebook. However, now the clip seems to be deleted.
In the video, the male driver can be heard telling the woman,
“Girl, you have me barking in the street.”
McKenzie replied with a laugh to hide her nervousness,
“I need you to stop following me right now, I don’t know you.”
Later in the video, it can be seen that McKenzie who is a personal trainer feels afraid and says in front of camera,
“Oh my gosh, he won’t leave, I’m about to call the police”.
McKenzie got rid of him by running in full speed away from him. She also told that the driver brought his car beside her and asked her to come inside. She refused him many times and also asked him to stop following her but he kept on chasing her.
McKenzie wrote,
“At first I sort of laugh in this video because I wasn’t totally sure what was going on. [When] he started making comments about my appearance and physique is when I was getting mad and to be honest, scared. I wasn’t smiling at him or giving him false hope that there was a chance I was interested. I was ignoring him, minding my own business. I have no doubt he would have followed me my entire run if he could.”
What’s more shocking is the fact that many people passed by watching the whole incident but none of them came forward to help McKenzie.
McKenzie wrote,
“What you don’t see on the video is me … looking at other cars saying ‘I don’t know this man’ and nobody helping. Even a car full of women just drove around and laughed.”
She also requested people not to be just viewers if something happens in front of them and should try to help the victim. In her words,
“If you see someone harassing a girl, or a girl going ‘Help me’, do something. Guys, even if you are not actually physically touching a girl, harassing her by following her on the street is just as bad. I felt super scared for a moment.”
We also endorse the opinion of McKenzie and request our readers not to be mere mute spectators if something wrong happens in front of them and least they can do is informing the police.
We appreciate the girl for showing courage throughout the incident and to shame the pervert on social media.