People do creepy stuff to all the time. Sometimes they stand too close to you on the bus. Sometimes they won’t quit making eye contact. And sometimes, as in the case of this story, they follow you with their camera on trying to film your crotch for later use. Gross. But while many times it feels like there’s nothing to do about a creepy person exerting their creepiness over you until you want to jump out of your skin, Bostonian Jase Dillan just won a battle for women who have been harassed by following the creepy dude who tried to film her and then giving him a taste of what it’s like to be skeeved on by a stranger.
Death and Taxes reports that Dillan, who posted the video on Facebook where it’s quickly gathered over two million views, posted the following message along with her footage of the guy, who she says had been filming her and other women:
just another day on Newbury St. please help me find and identify this creep. not only did he film my crotch and backside, along with the same of at least 8 other women that i personally witnessed in less than 10 minutes, but I decided to confront him after watching him do the same to 2 girls who could not have been more than 14 years old. DISGUSTING.
The video, which clocks in at around two minutes, is pretty uncomfortable to watch. That’s not because Dillan is being particularly hard on the guy—”“Does this make you uncomfortable? I’m videotaping you the way you were videotaping me. You don’t like to be filmed without your permission?” she asks, her tone a mix of rage and mock surprise—but because it’s a reminder that this type of stuff happens every day without recourse. Death and Taxes calls the clip “a thing of beauty to behold,” and they’re not wrong. This video’s not going to stop every creep out there, but it will hopefully make the people who do take pictures and videos of strangers on the street for their own benefit pause. And if at least one person thinks “hey, maybe I don’t have a right to film people just because they’re on the street,” then we’re just that bit closer to a less creepy world.
Dillan told Cosmopolitan she reported the man to police, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much they can do:
After confronting the man, she returned to her car and met a Boston police officer, who took her statement. Dillan said the officer was “incredibly helpful” and encouraged her to send him her video so he could view it more closely.
“Technically it is not illegal. It is perfectly [legal] to film a clothed woman,” Dillan pointed out. “But does it make it right when you’re zooming in crotch and asses? No it does not.”
She said the officer absolutely agreed the man was behaving inappropriately.
(Via Death and Taxes)