A Storm in a Teacup?
This story was published on April 4th 2019. It was written by Katya (El Salvador, 2018–2020 Cohort)
After a morning packed with lectures at the University of Malta in Valletta, my friend and I were hungry and headed towards the Food Market at around 2 pm. We checked out the food stalls surrounding the central bar to take our pick. Once we completed the food court tour, my friend and I placed our orders at different stalls in the same hall. As I was paying for my order, I felt something brushed the side of my bottom…I turned around quickly, expecting to find a kid who might have bumped against the bag hanging from my arm; thus causing it to brush my rear. No kid was around, and I did not look for any further explanation.
However, what I discovered next was really enraging: On my way towards the stall where my friend was, I saw an old man touch her bottom as he walked past her! It was only then when I realised the touch I had felt earlier was no accident at all. I rushed to my friend and asked if she was aware of what just happened. She thought a pickpocket had tried to steal something from her bag. When I explained what had happened to me and what I saw happen to her, she was so infuriated and demanded we knock the man down. She walked quickly towards the exit where the man and a companion of his were heading to, and I ran after her to confront the aggressor.
In retrospect, I realise how powerfully past experiences and the lack of them condition our responses to events in the present. Earlier that week and that morning, I had ridden on crowded buses where passengers bumped against my backpack causing me to feel a variety of slight touches on my back and arms; I did not think of them as sexual touching. Now, although catcalls are commonplace for a solo woman in popular squares back home, fondling or groping is not the usual. When it does happen, however, a woman’s response comprises cursing the aggressor and displaying offensive gestures. I admit I have had to put up with catcalls in my home country, but never had I experienced physical sexual harassment until that day in Valetta. In truth, if I had not witnessed the harassment my friend went through, I would have never given the situation a second thought because my personal reference and my earlier experiences with the Maltese public transportation framed my rationalisation of the issue leaving out the possibility that I had been sexually harassed.
Once I gathered the facts, I felt enraged and just wanted to make the aggressor feel as outraged and sick as my friend and I were. The confrontation occurred right at the entrance/exit door of the Food Market and lasted around 3 minutes. All along the aggressor and his companion would smirk, pretend they did not know what was going on and kept repeating “thanks”. He appeared to be desperate to leave the place before somebody noticed what was happening (not a single customer, security staff or police person came into or nearby the door!) I wish I had recorded him, published the video and made it viral for his family and friends to feel ashamed! I wish I had reported the aggression to a police person. I wish I had cursed the aggressor, just like women in my country do in these situations, but I did not do it! Should I hold my frame of reference accountable for failing to do so? Could I have sought some support from bystanders? Should I point out the lack of resources available, e.g. security staff at the Market or police people to report the situation? Well, by the time I reached the door, my friend had warned the man to watch out for his hand.I hammered as I pointed my finger at him that he had to be more careful with his dirty hand, and demanded along with my friend that he apologise. He barely uttered “sorry” as his way out of the situation.
Based on his nervous physical and verbal response, I can tell he did not expect any confrontation. He and his companion were tourists in Malta, and it is likely that they had gotten away harassing other women here or in their home countries. Some people might justify these tourists’ behaviour on the grounds that “they had just had a couple of drinks from the bar at the Food Market,” and the aggression my friend and I experienced was a one-off. “No big deal!” Well, I say it is a big deal! My friend and I felt vulnerable as a result of such unwanted sexual touch (regardless of being a one-off) thus, the aggression must not be overlooked. Evidence from a study on sexual harassment of women and girls in public spaces supports that “when sexual harassment is trivialised or treated as no big deal, it can reinforce the problem. Victims do not want to speak out in case they are told that what they experienced is trivial, a joke, or a compliment” (Women and Equalities Committee, 2018, p.12).
Society’s normalisation of this type of “minor offences” exacerbates its pervasiveness. To illustrate, a survey in 2016 found that “85% of [British] women aged 18–24 had experienced unwanted sexual attention, and 45% unwanted sexual touching in public spaces” (Policy Department for Citizen’s Rights and Constitutional Affairs, 2018, p. 33). Another study by Plan UK in 2018 revealed that “38 per cent of girls [and women 14 -21] experience verbal harassment including sexual comments in public places at least once a month, while 15 per cent are being touched, groped or grabbed at least once a month” (Women and Equalities Committee, 2018, p. 10).
Just like policymakers and researchers agree on categorising and criminalising sexual behaviour according to their severity, i.e. from sexually suggestive gestures, sexual comments or jokes, unwelcome touching, sexually explicit texts to rape (Policy Department for Citizen’s Rights and Constitutional Affairs, 2018), it is also essential for families to acknowledge and raise their children’s awareness that any instance of sexual harassment — severe or not, repeated or one-off — involves unwanted sexual conduct which results in violation of the person’s self-determination and dignity (Policy Department for Citizen’s Rights and Constitutional Affairs, 2018; Women and Equalities Committee, 2018; health.gov.mt, 2019; sexualhealth.gov.mt, n.d.). Progress has been made preventing and criminalising sexual harassment at the workplace, but a lot more is needed to hinder sexual harassment in public spaces.
Almost a week has passed since my incident in Valletta. And however mild my friend’s and my response was, I know we stood up not only for our rights, but also for the rights of other girls and women who have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. We did not leave our aggressor unchallenged, and the confrontation might prevent his behaviour from escalating to more severe aggression. Back then and now, I consider if the resources i.e. phone line, police people or security staff had been available, the effect of the confrontation on the aggressor and other potential aggressors could have been stronger. Thus, fellow IMAESCers, let us strive for transformation and policies that transcend paper and turn into readily available resources for people to get assistance when required.
References
Health.gov.mt. (2019). Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).Retrieved from https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/MDH/Pages/MDH-Sexual-Assault-Response-Team.aspx
Policy Department for Citizen’s Rights and Constitutional Affairs. (2018). Bullying and sexual harassment at the workplace, in public spaces, and in political life in the EU.
Sexualhealth.gov.mt. (n.d.).Parents. Sexual Assault. Retrieved from https://sexualhealth.gov.mt/content/parents/sexual-assault-2
Women and Equalities Committee. (2018). Sexual harassment of women and girls in public places. Sixth Report of Session 2017–19. House of Commons.
