This is the bizarre moment a woman pinned down a ‘sex pest’ in the street, stripped off and rubbed her breasts on his face as he squirmed on the ground in a shocking anti-sexual harassment stunt. The footage shot in Ribeirao Preto city centre, south east Brazil, shows a young saleswoman, who had been handing out flyers, pinning a man to the ground with her foot as she accuses him of pestering her in public. A crowd of bemused onlookers watches as the t-shirt-clad woman berates the unidentified man on the pavement, telling him she is fed up of being ‘touched and sexually harassed while just doing her job.’ Watch video below
The alleged assailant pleads for her to stop, claiming he ‘was out shopping with his wife and has done nothing wrong.’ But as the man protests his innocence the irate female, who is not named, shouts:
‘I’m fed up being treated like a sex object. Is it boobs you want?’
Then in a shocking scene the seller strips off her top, exposing her breasts and seconds later straddles the supposed offender. Bending over her alleged attacker, she slaps him around the face then proceeds to pummel his face with her bare chest.
Some bystanders support her actions and urge her on, while others are outraged with one woman shouting:
‘This is absurd, there is no justification for doing this. How can you do this in front of children in the city centre? You’re disrespecting women with your actions.’
Others say the woman is courageous and ‘this has humiliated and exposed the attacker.’ But the outrageous display is not all that it seems. The incident was staged by a theatre crew at the end of last year. The group wanted to highlight the unwelcome attention that can often turn into sexually explicit and degrading comments, coupled with intimidating approaches to women working in public places.
Fausto Ribeiro, director of the Confluências group, the creators of the piece said: ‘We wanted to expose and address something that happens every day to our sisters and female friends.
‘This was meant to challenge people’s perceptions and empower women with the shock tactic of retaliation. We wanted to force men to think more responsibly about their actions and the consequences.’
At the time of its posting, the video gained over a million views but was withdrawn after it was heavily criticised. It has since re-emerged amid the escalating Hollywood sex abuse scandal. The high street company, whose tee-shirt the actor was wearing, denied any involvement in the incident. In a statement the business said:
‘There was no involvement of any employee or representative in this theatrical action.’
Serious matter!