A journalist has shared her terrifying experience while investigating sexual harassment in Liverpool.
Ellie Flynn went "undercover" for Channel 4's Dispatches as part of an investigation into the threats that women face on nights out. Her investigation brought her to Liverpool, where she pretended to be drunk and alone on a Saturday night in the city centre to see what would happen.
Despite having a security team on hand, Ellie claims her "heart was racing" when a man followed her back to her hotel room, after she told him she didn't want him to come. She said: "Despite giving the man no indication I want him to come with me, he follows me all the way back to my hotel room, which has been rigged with secret cameras.
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"Dropping my drunk façade after the door closes, I ask him why he has followed me in. He insists: “We came together.” My heart is racing as I reply: “No we didn’t, you followed me. I never said to come.”
The man was eventually convinced to leave and apologised, before he reportedly turned around and said: "Come on, give me a kiss."
An exclusive survey of just over 1,000 women conducted for Channel 4 by YouGov also found almost a quarter have been followed on a night out and one in 10 have had their drink spiked. Horrifically a quarter said they had been raped or sexually assaulted on a night out.
Undercover: Sexual Harassment – The Truth is set to air on Monday December 12 on Channel 4 at 10pm.
In a statement, Merseyside Police said it was not contacted by the journalist regarding the incident, and have themselves contacted the programme makers for more details. A police spokesperson said: "We are aware of the forthcoming Dispatches programme – Undercover: Sexual Harassment – The Truth, which is due to be aired on Monday night (12 December).
We have not seen the programme in advance, however, we believe that the female reporter, alleges that she was subject to sexual harassment in the city centre and was even followed back to her room by a man.
We were not contacted by the programme makers about the incident and have contacted them for further details, as we have no report of any complaint involving the reporter.
Merseyside Police also reiterated its commitment to tackling violence against women, including sexual assault and harassment. One of the ways they plan to do this is through Operation Empower, which includes the Walk and Talk scheme, where concerned women can go on a walk with officers and discuss their worries.
If you, or someone you know, is/has been a victim of harassment there are a few different ways you can report it to the police.
- If it’s an emergency, always call 999 and ask for the police. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergency SMS service
- Call Victim Care Merseyside for support. Call Freephone 0808 175 3080 on weekdays between 8am and 6pm, or request support online at www.victimcaremerseyside.org at any time
- Report online: If you’d like to report online, rather than speaking to an officer by telephone in the first instance, you can use our online crime reporting service which is secure and confidential. All reports made using this service are reviewed by our 24/7 contact centre within a few hours and an officer will get back to you in a maximum of two days (although usually quicker).
- Call 101: If you’d like to talk to someone, our national non-emergency telephone number is staffed 24/7. Call us on and report what happened or just get some advice.
- Visit a police station: If you’d like to speak to an officer in person, we can provide a safe and comfortable environment at any of our police stations.
- Crimestoppers: Information provided anonymously via Crimestoppers is extremely valuable in helping us plan how we police each area. You can contact them through their website https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information or by calling 0800 555 111.
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