Street Harassment

[dgm102]

I live on my own in the outskirts of Bangkok and never had a problem with this until now, so I'm very shocked about what happened. Yesterday as I was walking to the bus stop I saw this guy on a motorbike who was hanging out around the soi corner. When I walked past he pulled his pants and underwear down and something like "hey you". I ignored it and kept walking, then he started the bike and kept stopping every few meters with his fly open. I yelled at him "what are you doing?" in Thai and next thing I know is he disappears, until he comes on his bike from behind me and grabs my butt. By that time I'd reached the bus stop and got on the first bus I saw.

Then today I saw the same guy, again on the motorbike, he kept driving along and saying something in what he probably thinks it's English but it's not, I couldn't understand him anyway. To get to the bus stop I have to go up a footbridge, and as I was going up the stairs, someone was coming down, but I didn't realise it was him until he grabbed me again quite violently. I picked up an empty glass bottle and threw it at him, unfortunately it didn't do much damage. What unnerves me is that somehow he KNEW I had to go up that bridge, went all the way there, parked his bike, and went up the bridge to cross his path with mine. So I'm thinking maybe he's been following me?? It's quite scary.

Where do I stand here? If this happens again I'd feel very inclined to get physically violent against him but I guess as a foreigner and a woman I don't have a chance if the police gets involved. And what if he gets some other skunk involved too? I really don't know what to do and I don't want to put my safety at risk. I'd appreciate any suggestions you can make.

[Boo]

I would buy some pepper stray & a small baton from one of the street vendors then let him have it. I would also go to the local police station today with a thai friend to report him & even if they don't do anything you then have it on record when you pepper spray & beat the crap out of him, that he assulted you.

But that's just me, I am a reactionary type person & would never wait for this to escalate, he needs to be put out of action imo but others will probably be along to offer alternate advices.

Oh & if poster makes a comment about how the ops dresses or acts whilst walking to work I will be giving them a holiday.

[dgm102]

Thank you so much Boo. I've not seen pepper spray being sold here but obviously I wasn't looking for it. Where can I find it and do you know the Thai word for it?

Thanks again.

[Boo]

The other thing to remember is he has clearly noticed that 1) you take the same route daily 2) you are always alone 3) that you don't seem to have any boyfriend or friend walking with you, and these are probably the main reasons he has chosen you,.

If you can in any way shake up your routine, go a different direction for a while, have a friend walk with you, ask a collegue or male friend to go with you on the regualr route & scare him off then you might be able to avoid a physical comfrontation.

Do you have any thai neighbours, older ones that you could ask to help you, I was once getting bugged by a thai guy & an older thai woman came along & told him to sling it, it was sweet cause I am 6ft & can look after myself & she was tiny but he was shamed enough by her to go away.

I would also be concerned that he knows where you live, be very careful when leaving your home or going to your home that he isn't following you in any way & invest in good home security. if this doens't get better then the only course of action is to move signifigantly far away that he is no longer inclined to look you out.

Like I said, get a local to go with you to the police, if you can get a photo of this guy even better, take it to the police & let them know that he is physicallly assaulting you.

[Boo]

Most markets sell it as well as MBK, central Lad praew etc. The name is: Sa pray prik thai

Again more expert linguists might be along to offer better translations. Good luck

[Songhua]

Do you have a police officer who regularly patrols your soi or one who is stationed nearby?

Sounds like this guy is more than a one-time flasher and the police do usually know the faces in their area. I think you should consider the whole thing as already having gone beyond anything acceptable and should be reporting it immediately ... not waiting for some furtherance of it.

[Payboy]

Sexual assault has already occurred. Time to get the law involved.

[slapout]

This is 2 days in a row, correct? I would recommend tommow morning you have someone go with you to the bus stop, just to be on the safe side. Get you pepper spray (do a practice spray at home), and baton for the following day and have a freiend follow at a distance.

Just remember if you elect the spay and baton method, do not be bashful with the baton, other wise frail the hell out of him.

I would repeat the suggestion that you make a report at the nearest police box. be sure and get the name/rank of who you talk to.

Be careful, wish I was close, to run as backup. I have a great walking stick and even at my advanced age I woulds love to put lumps on some perverts noggin (at least).

[dgm102]

Thanks Boo, sapray prik thai makes perfect sense...didn't know if the direct translation would work.

Songhua,
doesn't seem like police has much presence in this area, I know where
the nearest police station is though which is not really close. Problem
is if I have to describe or identify this guy in front of the police I
won't be able to do it. I recognised him today because of the motorbike
and he was wearing the same shirt as yesterday, but I wouldn't be able
to remember his face. Maybe it would help if I can make a note of the bike's plate?

Also, I don't have any male friends here, I work mostly from home and do not
have much chance to interact with people so that's algo working against
me.

Edited March 11, 2013 by dgm102

[jomcondo]

go to the local police with a thai friend and report it.

don't keep the same pattern with the footbridge/bus stop......use a motorcycle or car taxi from your home for a while.

you could be dealing with a mad dog that might be planning a vicious rape.

[Morakot]

A Personal Safety Alarm could also provide some protection. But definitely as said before make a complaint to the police.

[Nowhereman60]

if you have a camera phone, take a picture of him, he may think you are going to report him and stop that crap. Have the pepper spray handy just in case any problems.

[Songhua]

Absolutely, yes, make a note of his bike rego.

I believe you should still try to get to your nearest police station - at least then something is on record (and you may not be the only one he's been harassing). As payboy said, although it may not have been deadly serious up to this point, you HAVE already been assaulted and the BiB (for all their faults) will probably not look kindly on him.

Under no circumstances allow yourself to be followed the other direction ie TO home.

[Ave]

I have had to move to a different location on a couple of occasions for similar reasons as yours. But I agree with the other poster, report this as soon as possible.

[dgm102]

I can probably ask a Thai female friend to come to the police station with me, but my question is: can I turn up there and said this and that happened but I can't really remember the guy's face??

[Boo]

Of course you can, you have the location & the times it happened, they may even know of him from other reports but the key thing is to reporting so that if you are forced to defend yourself you have a record of the reason why

[Morakot]

I can probably ask a Thai female friend to come to the police station with me, but my question is: can I turn up there and said this and that happened but I can't really remember the guy's face??

Of course you can! Many people in situations like this cannot recall the attacker's face or other details.

What is important is that the incident gets recorded with the police as you were assaulted.

Edited March 11, 2013 by Morakot

[kurnell]

Where on the outskirts of Bangkok?

[Sheryl]

You can, but if you can get a photo of him it will help. Or might there have been any people who witnessed it or at least would know who he was, e.g. people living in the soi he drove by on? If you can find someone who knows who he is it will up the chances of the poice having a word with him.

Street harrassement is very common in Thailand but what you describe goes well beyond that into actual assault and the escalating nature of his behavior is indeed something to worry about. Do report it to police and also see if you can get some help from neighbors/Thai friends.

[Morakot]

Where on the outskirts of Bangkok?

District level would fine, but don't say where this happened, here on TV, if you feel vulnerable at the moment.

Edited March 11, 2013 by Morakot

[kurnell]

Where on the outskirts of Bangkok?

District level would fine, but don't say where this happened, here on TV, if you feel vulnerable at the moment.

I can send half a dozen of my boys from our warehouse of to greet the pervert

[dgm102]

Ah Kurnell, wouldnt' that be nice!!

This happened somewhere around Sukhumvit 107/Bearing.

Edited March 11, 2013 by dgm102

[rct99q]

Report the issue as soon as you can. Provide as many details as you can. Even if you can not describe a face, try to remember as many details as you can;

weight

height

smell - was there a particular odor

hair color - style - length

shoes, pants, shirts

build an image once you start some things you may have forgotten will come back to you.

As others have mentioned mix up your routine.

Take care

[rene123]

You've already been given some good advice. If it were me I would go on the offensive and hunt him with a camera and pepper spray. By all means go to the police. They may already have a record on this jerk. As others have already said... he has ALREADY assaulted you and needs to be stopped. It will only continue and if not you then some other poor woman.

[Songhua]

I can probably ask a Thai female friend to come to the police station with me, but my question is: can I turn up there and said this and that happened but I can't really remember the guy's face??

Of course.

^ what Boo said.

[Bangkokhatter]

Am at the bottom end of Lasalle, if you need any help reporting it to the police or with anything else, PM me, like others have said, it's gone too far already.

[phuturatica]

Sounds horrible what has happened.

I second what everyone else is saying... Get pepperspray in, some kind of baton, get a photo of this crazy guy or his motorbike registration plates and report him to the police. Also even though it could be hard, try to avoid walking around there on your own?!

Like you said... It was as if he was following you and you don't want him knowing where you are.

Take care and stay safe!

[ihunnieibee]

This kind of thing has happened to me too but it was around my university it was always some guy sitting on a motorbike waiting a few steps down where the road curved as I walked to the university he would make moaning sounds and say "uhh uhh oh yeah" i never tried to make eye contact with him but it happened SO MANY TIMES and I told some people but everyone just said "ignore it ignore it"

I just started entering my uni from the back way since I started taking the MRT instead of the BTS but I've had people follow me home before but good thing there is a guy who watches out for me in my soi because he is the one that told me I was being followed I didn't even know >.< basically he told him to F-off..

Also I've been stalked in NYC, had been told that a guy was looking through my apartment window at times and would get someone ringing my bell at 3-4am and also one night i felt like i heard someone open my door while I was sleeping.

These things are really scary I feel sorry for you I hope that you can get control in this situation or some help but I understand how you feel when you don't think you can do anything because it's hard to be able to have someone with you 24/7 but also after something like this happens it's hard to walk confidently without becoming paranoid

[kurnell]

Ah Kurnell, wouldnt' that be nice!!

This happened somewhere around Sukhumvit 107/Bearing.

Not that far away then. Ours guys have 3 trucks, and a load of wood

[teacher17]

Had a similar thing happen to me...though it was in Malaysia AND I was with my boyfriend. He told us he was a taxi driver and would take us someplace. I was ahead of my BF and all of a sudden he just dropped his pants and started peeing on the side of the road. Then proceeded to touch my shoulder and I just about smacked him. BF was not happy, but we both realized this guy was obviously mentally ill. You're pretty sure this guys doesn't have any mental issues? (although I'd say attempting to sexually assault you is certainly "having issues.") Best to try and find another route to take for awhile or get someone to walk with you. Pepper spray is great.

Had quite a few other weirdo's...funnily enough, most of them were old men who seemed friendly at first...hopefully you get this figured out. Best not to wait for things to escalate...take care!