Sexual harassment has been a big buzzword this year, but with every new story that emerges, the misconduct we witness only gets more and more bizarre and egregious.
This week, a video of a woman getting punched in the face by a strange man went viral, causing thousands of viewers to demand justice via our favorite problem solver, Twitter. The recipient of the unwarranted violence was Marie Laguerre, a student who had been minding her own business when a man began to make suggestive comments and whistle at her. After telling him to “shut up,” the man followed her and hit her squarely in the face in front of dozens of bystanders outside a cafe. Laguerre released the video to the public, hoping to raise awareness of the state of street harassment in France.
The video was even mentioned by France’s Gender Equality Minister, Marlène Schiappa, who spoke about it to the French Parliament, saying that this incident could have the power to change people’s minds about street harassment. And while it might take more than a few hashtags, the fact that people are paying attention is, at the very least, a good start to ending this toxic issue in France and abroad.
