MANILA, Philippines- Like most Filipinas, UP Manila student Mary Nicole De Guzman is no stranger to catcalls.
De Guzman would often get lustful stares and catcalls from strangers as well as invitation from polite foreigners to go on a date in the past, but no one has ever dared to touch the young lady. But on Monday, February 1, De Guzman personally experienced sexual harassment after an unidentified man touched her “behind” while she was at Robinson’s Place Manila.
According to De Guzman, she noticed a man staring at her several times at the second floor of the mall while she was waiting for someone to fetch her. This prompted her to give the man an angry glare and enter some shops to drive him away. Unfortunately, De Guzman’s strategy didn’t seem to work as the man was still around the area moments later.
When she decided to enter another store, the man in question briefly passed her and “touched her behind”.
“I was startled, dumbfounded and angry all at the same time, since i dont swear, all i could blurt out was ‘ang kapal ng mukha mo ah!’(‘you’re thick-skinned!’), kahit pa sobrang mas malala pa dun ang gusto long sabihin sa kanya (even if I wanted to say something much worse),” De Guzman wrote.
Seeing De Guzman’s reaction, the man immediately walked straight ahead fast making it difficult for the victim to follow him. A minute later, De Guzman was surprised to see that the man was still following her.
This drove De Guzman to take out her phone and capture photos of the man.
Embarrassed by the situation, the man who was already hiding his face quickly walked away from De Guzman towards the elevator. De Guzman opted to follow the man to take more photos of him.
Since there were several people witnessing the incident, De Guzman shouted: “Pasensya na po, pinpipicturan ko lang yung lalakeng binastos ako."
( I apologize. I’m just taking a photo of the man who disrespected me.)
Although De Guzman broke down after the incident, she is definite that she was able to avenge herself by taking photos of the man. The victim is planning to give out printed copies of the photos of the man to the mall security guards and talk to the mall manager to prevent the man from returning. She also intends to file a police blotter against the man and eventually have him imprisoned even for six months.
“Mahuli man siya o hindi, it brings me joy na nakaganti ako kahit papano. Nung hinabol ko siya to take a pic of him, fear and panic was written all over his face, just like mine when he "touched" me,” she wrote.
(Whether he will be caught or not, it brings me joy that I was able to avenge myself in a way. When I ran after him to take his photo, fear and panic was written all over his face, just like mine when he “touched” me.)
Read her full story.
-Mini/The Summit Express
De Guzman would often get lustful stares and catcalls from strangers as well as invitation from polite foreigners to go on a date in the past, but no one has ever dared to touch the young lady. But on Monday, February 1, De Guzman personally experienced sexual harassment after an unidentified man touched her “behind” while she was at Robinson’s Place Manila.
According to De Guzman, she noticed a man staring at her several times at the second floor of the mall while she was waiting for someone to fetch her. This prompted her to give the man an angry glare and enter some shops to drive him away. Unfortunately, De Guzman’s strategy didn’t seem to work as the man was still around the area moments later.
When she decided to enter another store, the man in question briefly passed her and “touched her behind”.
“I was startled, dumbfounded and angry all at the same time, since i dont swear, all i could blurt out was ‘ang kapal ng mukha mo ah!’(‘you’re thick-skinned!’), kahit pa sobrang mas malala pa dun ang gusto long sabihin sa kanya (even if I wanted to say something much worse),” De Guzman wrote.
Seeing De Guzman’s reaction, the man immediately walked straight ahead fast making it difficult for the victim to follow him. A minute later, De Guzman was surprised to see that the man was still following her.
This drove De Guzman to take out her phone and capture photos of the man.
Embarrassed by the situation, the man who was already hiding his face quickly walked away from De Guzman towards the elevator. De Guzman opted to follow the man to take more photos of him.
Since there were several people witnessing the incident, De Guzman shouted: “Pasensya na po, pinpipicturan ko lang yung lalakeng binastos ako."
( I apologize. I’m just taking a photo of the man who disrespected me.)
Although De Guzman broke down after the incident, she is definite that she was able to avenge herself by taking photos of the man. The victim is planning to give out printed copies of the photos of the man to the mall security guards and talk to the mall manager to prevent the man from returning. She also intends to file a police blotter against the man and eventually have him imprisoned even for six months.
“Mahuli man siya o hindi, it brings me joy na nakaganti ako kahit papano. Nung hinabol ko siya to take a pic of him, fear and panic was written all over his face, just like mine when he "touched" me,” she wrote.
(Whether he will be caught or not, it brings me joy that I was able to avenge myself in a way. When I ran after him to take his photo, fear and panic was written all over his face, just like mine when he “touched” me.)
Read her full story.
Sa araw-araw na paglakad ko from UP to rob, i get stared at in lecherous ways, i get cat-called a lot, and the polite...
Posted by Mary Nicole De Guzman on Monday, February 1, 2016
-Mini/The Summit Express
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