A young woman from McKies Hill wants the public to know about a horrific ordeal she encountered on Wednesday 21 September while on her way home, all in an effort to highlight the dangers women face on a daily basis.
The woman who prefers to stay anonymous said it was close to midday when a young man approached her demanding her number and making sexual overtures, she said she could have also met her demise since the man at one point pulled a pair of scissors.
The woman said the encounter could have gone downhill if not for a woman who operates a business in the gap behind the Girl’s High School.
Read the woman’s unedited version of events below
I was walking from the bus stop at Beachmont, while walking, there was a guy behind of me and he was calling me saying, girl, girl, I did not look around. By this time I was on the side of where the Girls High School gate is walking and he was behind of me and then he decided to go over to the other side and shout. Are you deaf? You deaf, you deaf, So I looked at him, I said, excuse me, so he repeated himself again, like you deaf, I want your number just like that, in an aggressive tone.
I am shocked because this is not somebody who I’m acquainted with, I don’t know this person, why would I give a stranger my contact details? Following this, he decided to come to the side of the road where I was and shouted at me.
So if I f*** you, if I f*** you, you go give me it. So I said, excuse me again because honestly, it’s like I’m repeating one thing over and over because I am just in complete shock.
I just couldn’t believe what was happening at the time. So he repeated himself again. So if I f*** you, you’re going to give me your number. So then after I notice that this behaviour cannot be normal, I decided to take my cellular phone and recorded a piece of the interaction. I was doing it in a discrete way so that he would not notice. But later, after I realized that I didn’t get his face while recording him, I was repeating what he was saying to me so that I could get it on the phone. So then he was like, why are you recording? why are you recording?
The video ended abruptly and it’s because he realized that I was videotaping him and he was getting closer to me.
He was acting calm in the footage and it’s only because I had him on record and then I later ended the video because I noticed he was trying to take my phone.
Give me your phone, let me see your phone, he said to me. I didn’t give him my phone and said to him, if you think that because you’re bigger than me, that I’m intimidated by you, you tell a lie, I would call the police.
Thankfully there was a lady who operates her business behind the Girl’s High School, she came out with another guy and then he decided to apologize and flee the scene, but he did that because he suspected that somebody was watching him.
So because of the whole ordeal, I was very uncomfortable and everything like that. So after he left, a few minutes later, I decided to walk over the hill and I saw him going over Wilson Hill. I went over there and I saw a police officer and I signalled to the police officer and then he fled. I told the police officer what transpired and she said that it would be good if I could get a picture of his face but because of how I was holding the camera, I wasn’t able to get the person’s face.
I did report the matter, but the only thing that the police said is that if I see him again because the video in some sense is really no use because you can’t see his face.
I think this is a disturbing matter. It’s it feels like St Vincent is becoming a place where women don’t have rights. That’s how I think because this is a stranger, right? This person was demanding my phone number, I have a right to say no, I don’t know him.
The video might not be much help, but based on his clothing, I’m sure somebody could be able to pinpoint who he might be because this is a serious matter. He took out his scissors to harm me. He did it in such a way I didn’t even notice until I looked over the video.
Mental health is a real issue.
