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Neeta Lal

The case of a South Korean YouTuber who was chased and sexually harassed in India while filming a video has highlighted the safety risks that women face in public in the South Asian country.
Hyojeong Park, 24, who runs the Mhyochi food and travel channel on YouTube, said men attempted to “kiss her” and follow her to her hotel room while she was shooting a video on the streets of Mumbai.
“They shouted ‘I love you’ at me and when I didn’t respond, they attempted to molest me,” she said to some Indian TV channels.
She uploaded the experience earlier this month on her channel, which has some 157,000 subscribers.

The offenders were arrested after Park filed a complaint with the Mumbai police, but they were let go on bail soon after.
The incident has drawn the ire of activists, who have emphasised the vulnerability of women in public spaces while pointing to several such cases that occurred across the country this year.
Last month, a foreign tourist became the victim of an attempted rape in the Nellore district of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In May, a senior professor at a university in Hyderabad was arrested on charges of sexually harassing and attempting to kidnap a foreign student.
According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against women in 2022 rose by 6 per cent from 2021. Many female college students in Delhi have admitted to carrying pins, pen knives, and even daggers on public transport to deter perpetrators while others have taken self-defence classes, the agency noted.

A recent survey by NCRB also revealed that some 90 per cent of female college students in New Delhi have experienced some form of sexual harassment. Nearly 98 per cent of respondents felt that sexual harassment had affected their personal or academic development. But a 2018 NCRB survey estimated that only about 1 in 10,000 sexual harassment occurrences are reported to the police.
Sanjukta Lahiri, a social worker at the Sakhi NGO in Kerala that focuses on women’s issues, says “eve-teasing” or female-targeted sexual harassment is a growing social menace experienced by most Indian women.
She attributes it to “tectonic societal shifts like urbanisation, influence of Western culture, modernisation, and an entrenched patriarchal mindset that believes in the domination of women, especially sexual domination”.
“Such harassment is a gross violation of women’s rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution,” she said.

Lahiri added that for the sexual perpetrator, eve-teasing was not just about love or sex. “Indian men are raised to believe that they are more powerful physically and emotionally than women,” she said.
“They feel that they are doing nothing wrong by harassing women, just having some fun. Worse, most of the miscreants are also able to get away unpunished because women don’t report the crime due to the stigma associated with it.”
Veena Sirohi, whose teenage daughter was molested by a teacher last year, said the girl was too ashamed to report the incident. Sirohi insisted on bringing it to the attention of the principal, who promised “action” but ultimately did nothing for fear that it would bring “bad publicity” to the school.
The mother said the episode had affected her daughter’s personality as well as academics. “She has become introverted and scared to venture out and we’re seeking professional help to get her out of her trauma.”
What’s changed since Jyoti Singh’s 2012 gang rape and murder on a Delhi bus?
According to psychologist Neena Singhal of Fortis hospital in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, victims of sexual crime often suffer from high stress levels, panic attacks, lack of sleep, eating disorders and even suicidal thoughts. Female victims of molestation have also experienced a withdrawal from society, unwillingness to interact with others and a lack of trust towards the opposite sex.
Singhal recommended the Indian government launch public awareness campaigns targeting men.
“School and college workshops to sensitise young men about respecting women can also help, as also do roping in celebrities to put out a message in public domain that no such behaviour should go unpunished,” she said.


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South Korean YouTuber’s harassment in India highlights lack of safety for women in public

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A screenshot shows YouTuber Mhyochi being approached by a man in Mumbai. Photo: YouTube 

A woman waits along a street to board a bus in New Delhi. Indian rights activists have emphasised the vulnerability of women in public spaces while pointing to several sexual harassment cases across the country this year. Photo: AFP

Female commuters disembark from a bus at their designated stop in New Delhi. Many female college students in Delhi have admitted to carrying pins, pen knives, and even daggers on public transport to deter perpetrators while others have taken self-defence classes. Photo: AFP

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Former journalist Tarun Tejpal arrives for the verdict hearing of the sexual assault case on May 21. Photo: AFP 

Indian activists from various organisations hold anti-rape placards during a protest against an alleged gang rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Uttar Pradesh state. File photo: EPA-EFE 

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TO GO WITH INDIA-SOCIAL-WOMEN-CRIME, FEATURE BY ABHAYA SRIVASTAVA In this picture taken on on January 29, 2015, Indian policewomen practice kicks during a self-defence class in New Delhi. As dawn breaks over the Indian capital, a group of police women are already hard at work practising their punches, on a mission to rid the city's streets of sexual predators. AFP PHOTO / Rebecca CONWAY

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YouTuber Hyojeong Park said men tried to ‘kiss her’ and followed her to her hotel, while she was shooting a video in Mumbai
Activists say ‘eve-teasing’, or female-targeted sexual harassment, is a growing social menace experienced by most Indian women


Activists say ‘eve-teasing’, or female-targeted sexual harassment, is a growing social menace experienced by most Indian women.


South Korean YouTuber’s harassment in India highlights lack of safety for women in public

YouTuber Hyojeong Park said men tried to ‘kiss her’ and followed her to her hotel, while she was shooting a video in Mumbai Activists say ‘eve-teasing’, or female-targeted sexual harassment, is a growing social menace experienced by most Indian women

YouTuber Hyojeong Park said men tried to ‘kiss her’ and followed her to her hotel, while she was shooting a video in Mumbai

Activists say ‘eve-teasing’, or female-targeted sexual harassment, is a growing social menace experienced by most Indian women