25/11/2010 / UNITED STATES
"Then I see his penis out!": New York woman shames subway flasher
Screen shot of amateur video of Briggs berating a subway sex offender.
She’s the woman every woman dreams of being when confronted with a sexual harasser. When Nicola Briggs noticed the exposed penis of a man standing much too close to her in a New York subway in early September, she didn’t recoil in disgust, but gave her offender the verbal lashing he deserved.
“That’s it!” she screamed at the flabbergasted flasher. “Oh, you’re getting f***ing arrested! I’m not leaving your side! My plans are done for tonight.”
An amateur video shows the offender clutching a bag over his front to hide his groin as other subway riders crowd around. One tries to take a picture of his reportedly condom-clad penis.
The man, identified as 51-year-old Mario Valdivia, was arrested and charged with forcible touching, public lewdness and sex abuse. A known sex offender, he served jail time and will reportedly be deported to Mexico.
The identity of the woman remained unknown until November 24, when Briggs broke her silence in an interview with CBS 2. She explained that the offender had tried to get away, but that she and other men on the train blocked him and kept the suspect there until the police arrived.
The video has been viewed nearly 500,000 times on YouTube and made headlines in the United States, giving sexual harassment victims worldwide a reason to celebrate as the world marks the International day for the elimination of violence against women.
Warning: This video contains explicit language.
Contributors
“This video proves that having the courage to speak out, loudly, can have more effect than women think”
Emily May is co-founder of Hollaback!, a website and international grassroots movement that encourages women to speak out against sexual harassment. The site was one of the first to publish the video of this subway incident.
We were sent the video by a reader who had come across it on YouTube, and posted it immediately on our Website. Although we don’t know who that incredibly brave woman is [interview conducted before Briggs revealed her identity on CBS2], she epitomizes everything that Hollaback stands for. Not only does she speak out, but she is determined to bring her harasser to justice.
The reaction of our readers when they saw this video was: Wow. She’s my hero. This is because sexual harassment crimes are usually crimes that tend to be silenced, in part because of the shame they provoke in victims. Most women’s instinct, when confronted to a situation like this one, is to flee as fast as possible. Sometimes, especially when no other people are around, this is probably the safest attitude to adopt. But this video proves that having the courage to speak out, loudly, against the harasser can have more effect than we think.
Take a photo or video of your offender: it can always serve as evidence later
The role of cell phone cameras and new media is also particularly important here. If the people who witnessed the scene in the subway hadn’t taken their cameras out and decided to post the incident on YouTube then the woman’s reaction would still have been brave, but the story would have stopped there. In this case, the video allowed the offender to be arrested, charged and serve jail time. That’s why we at Hollaback encourage women – or anybody who witnesses an offence - to take a photo or video of their offender: it can always serve as evidence later.
We also encourage people to tell the story of their encounter with sexual harassment by posting it on our website. The scope and seriousness of the problem of “routine” harassment (catcalling, groping, inappropriate remarks) is little known and underestimated because of the taboo surrounding it. The Internet can be like one big campfire where we can talk about the issue and raise awareness, signaling to other victims of harassment that they are not alone.
When I saw this video, I thought of a recent anti-groping campaign that Hollaback and New Yorkers for Safe Transit jointly sponsored in the New York Subway. I can’t help but hope that women like the one in the video saw those ads and have it in the back of their mind that harassment is not OK, that they are right to speak out and will be supported.
Post written with France 24 journalist Lorena Galliot.
Comments
you are not alone
Submitted by valentino (not verified) on Mon, 28/02/2011 - 13:53.Bravo! You are not alone in this.
Bravo for you and for the ones who react with you!!
No abuse should keept in silence!
Not for the victim, not for the abuser. It´s our common responsability!
When an abuse happens, we all are abused.
If we all do not react/respond, we act as abusers with our silence!
Valentin, form Madrid, Spain
Reply to comment | The Observers
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Brave woman
Submitted by Silent victim (not verified) on Wed, 01/12/2010 - 15:41.I commend this woman for speaking up! I, too have been silent when men have publicy harassed me. I didn't want to bring attention to myself, for fear people would think I was nit-picking. A man sitting next to me on the train kept rubbing his leg against mine. I said nothing, but I quietly jabbed my elbow into his ribs. He pulled away from me. Catcalls (mainly by construction workers) I silently put up with, sometimes going around the block or on the other side of the street to avoid it. When I was 17 and working in an office, a man in his early 60's stalked me in the office. I told him to leave me alone. He reacted by telling me he wanted to take photos of me nude. I never reported this because this was in 1963 when it was "normal" to outwardly harass females in an office. People laughed at it. I was raped in Paris, but did not report it because that was when they blamed the victim, not the rapist. Also, I didn't want to have to go all the way to Paris for court. I lived in Chicago. To this day I feel guilty for not reporting it.
I applaud this woman!
Submitted by Peachply (not verified) on Sat, 27/11/2010 - 14:40.This has happend to me before only the man pressed his penis into my hand, the subway car was so crowded he was able to get that close without anyone seeing. I felt a warm soft fleshy thing in my palm, looked down and realized it was a body part. I went blank it was surreal. I was also very young and did not know how to react, he immediately disappeared into the crowd. I felt so violated. I was stunned and silent. This woman is a hero for all New York woman who have been fondled, ogled and demeaned on the New York City subways. Bravo.
Train Exposure
Submitted by Valerie Parkhurst (not verified) on Fri, 26/11/2010 - 13:01.God Bless this woman...he would have lost it had it been me..