‘I WAS SEXUALLY HARASSED AT PROTEST’
Alleged incident at march over women’s safety on streets:
A WOMAN said a man took pictures of her breasts as she led a protest against female sexual harassment and assault.
On Monday evening Sophie Morgan headed a peaceful ‘Reclaim The Streets’ protest in response to the death of Sarah Everard, who disappeared as she walked through London.
Serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens has since appeared in court charged with her kidnap and murder.
Appalled by the news and her own experiences, 23-year-old Sophie walked down Swansea city centre towards the police station with a speakerphone demanding for more to be done to keep women safe. But as she and around 200 other campaigners reached the station at around 7.30pm, she said alarm was raised by two protesters that a young man had been taking numerous pictures of her breasts.
Though she said she sadly wasn’t shocked by the incident, she was dumbfounded by the irony of it happening at an event which opposed that very behaviour.
She said yesterday: “Ironically at the time, I was speaking about body image and how women are afraid of being blamed for how they’re dressed when they’re harassed, being told they’re ‘asking for it.’ I think it’s the most ridiculous thing you can say. You should be allowed to walk freely in whatever you want. No matter what you look like, it is not consent.
“As I was speaking, all this fuss started happening at the front. I had no idea what was going on. This man was thrown to the floor in front of me and a male and a female said to me, ‘This man has been taking photos of your breasts and your bum.’ They said he had been zooming in specifically on my chest.”
She said that until that point, the protest had been peaceful with no intervention from police officers, most of whom were stood outside the police station.
However, because of the seriousness of the situation, Sophie said protesters started to get emotional, causing officers to intervene.
She said: “There were a lot of tears at that point, I think of frustration and anger that this was all happening, especially in front of about 15 police officers.
“It was the only time the police had to use a bit of force, but it was against us, not against that man initially. It was against us because obviously it happening at an anti-sexual harassment and assault protest is beyond ironic, so we lost it. It was completely inappropriate. I don’t know what happened to him.
“At one point when the man disappeared I said, ‘What was done about what just happened?’ and there was no response from the police. I said, ‘How many of you have daughters or wives or friends of cousins? You’ve just witnessed a sexual assault and you’ve done nothing.’”
Sophie said that at one point, the man was standing so close to her she could “feel his breath on [her] face”. She claimed she was able to grab his phone and see the photos he had taken.
“I said, ‘I cannot believe I am standing here with your phone with pictures of me on it’ and the police were just stood behind me.
“I could see, just as the male and female said, pictures of my breasts. Then he just walked away. We’ll never know his name and we’ll never know what happened after he left. How many other women is he doing that to? Even on that night, if he was looking for women to take pictures of. He could have hundreds of pictures and we will never know.”
Adding to the irony of the situation, Sophie said she had purposely dressed in revealing clothing to prove a point. Not only did she want to show that women should be able to wear whatever they want and feel safe, she wanted to show what happened to women when they dressed in that way.
She wanted to get across that women are not to blame when they are assaulted or harassed for the clothes they choose to wear, that it is the people who harass or assault them who are the problem. I had a revealing top and jeans on. I said I should be able to wear these jeans with no shame, just as he was thrown in front of me,” she said.
“There is so much out there about women’s body image even without reference to sexual harassment.
“So many women are made to feel, from social media and society, so badly about their own bodies.
“Not only did I want to show to other girls, wear what you want, be proud of your body, you own your body, but also to show what happens when you wear revealing clothes.
“And look what happened, a guy was taking photos of me. This is what happens when we wear them. We should be able to walk around and feel safe in that clothing – my body is not my consent.”
The incident was investigated by South Wales Police but it was decided that no further action would be taken due to insufficient evidence to proceed.
A spokeswoman for the force said: “An allegation was made of inappropriate filming during the protest outside Swansea Central Police Station.
“Officers spoke to the individual accused, and his phone was examined for evidence by officers at the scene.
“There was nothing untoward on his phone, just general footage of the protest, and no evidence was discovered relating to the allegation so no further action was taken.
“Sophie was given a full update by the local neighbourhood police sergeant.”
‘‘ You’ve just witnessed a sexual assault and you’ve done nothing - Sophie Morgan
A YOUNG man who has been cruelly bullied throughout his life purely because of his size has travelled to a unique resort to go on a journey of self-acceptance, and even gained the confidence to conquer his fears and take his shirt off in the pool.
Adam Evans has featured on the latest series of Big Body Hotel, a discovery+ documentary show which follows a group of plus-sized British guests as they travel to a unique holiday resort in Antigua to experience a judgement-free holiday in the sun in a “safe haven”, embarking on a journey towards self-acceptance and newfound confidence. Rather than losing weight, each individual works with the specialist staff to learn how to love themselves and their bodies, revealing the harsh reality of living with weight issues day by day both at home and abroad.
The 31-year-old, who weighs around 30 stone, decided to sign up for the show because he was worried about feeling comfortable in his own skin ahead of his upcoming wedding day to his fiancee Jenna Jones, and opened up about the personal challenges he has had to overcome because of the way he is perceived by others.
The Morriston resident explained on the show: “I think I have been overweight pretty much all of my life. When I started secondary school I was called a fat ******* . I’ve been called lardy, fatso. I’ve been physically bullied, people punching me, pushing me over. Most of my life has been horrendous.
“I just look in the mirror and think ‘I’m disgusting, what a horrible person to look at.’ I’m engaged to the love of my life, Jenna, and I’m hoping that this is going to make me want to plan my wedding because I don’t feel happy enough and confident enough in my own body to actually get married yet. I’m really hoping this is going to change my life and I don’t ever want to go back to the life I’m living now.”
Reading a letter on the show, Mr Evans opened up on the way he had been treated by some growing up and how that had impacted on his life.
He told the others: “The bullying I have faced since childhood has really impacted on myself and my self-esteem. I have constantly been living a life which has caused me depression. I have never felt comfortable being the weight I am and being constantly judged unworthy as an individual and I feel as if I am failing my fiancee as we are avoiding planning the wedding as I want to look and feel comfortable.”
Mr Evans, a support worker and former Morriston Comprehensive School student, achieved many personal accomplishments during his time on the show, including hiking and being able to stand up on a paddleboard for the first time. But his biggest journey which he overcame was feeling confident enough to take his shirt off in the pool.
He said: “I don’t take my shirt off much in public. I used to like swimming but now I feel I can’t go swimming without a t-shirt on because I’m scared of people judging me and staring at my top half. I hate my chest area and I just fear that people will laugh.”
He began the episode wearing a t-shirt whilst swimming, but thanks to the support from his fellow guests, including fellow Welsh woman Lauren Mudie and staff - among them, activities manager and host David West, and body confidence coach Melanie Cohen - he finally decided to take it off.
Speaking to Walesonline about his experiences, Mr Evans said: “I have been living the last 30 years being overweight and I was badly bullied throughout my school life. Growing up, in school, was horrendous. When I started secondary school honestly I was called all the names under the sun and I was beaten up, and it got to the stage I just didn’t want to go anymore. I