Spanish government ministers have voiced outrage after a male passerby appeared to touch a journalist’s bottom as she was broadcasting live, leading to an on-air confrontation seen across the country.
Isa Balado, a journalist with the broadcaster Cuatro, was delving into the details of a robbery in central Madrid on Tuesday when she was approached by a man. Video shows him reaching one hand out to touch her rear, before interrupting her report to ask what television channel she worked for.
As footage of the incident circulated online, people across Spain swiftly weighed in, many of them citing the #SeAcabó (it’s over) hashtag that has emerged as Spain continues to grapple with the fallout of Luis Rubiales’ unsolicited kiss at last month’s Women’s World Cup medal ceremony.
🚨🚨🚨 AGRESIÓN SEXUAL EN DIRECTO a nuestra reportera @IsaBalado: "¿De verdad me tienes que tocar el culo?"
— En boca de todos (@EnBocaDe_Todos) September 12, 2023
Y tremenda reacción de @Nacho_Abad: "¡Pásame a este tío tonto!" pic.twitter.com/JOcbTLSFwI
“What until now was ‘normal’ is no longer so,” the country’s acting equality minister, Irene Montero, wrote on social media. “Non-consensual touching is sexual violence and we say enough to impunity.”
Yolanda Díaz, the acting labour minister and second deputy prime minister, called for the act to be punished. “Machismo is what leads to journalists having to suffer sexual assaults like this and leaves aggressors unrepentant in front of the camera,” she wrote.
Police said on Tuesday that they had arrested a man, reportedly aged 25, for sexually assaulting a reporter.
Immediately after the incident, Balado sought to continue with her report on the robbery, telling the man she was live on camera. Seconds later, the host of the show, Nacho Abad, apologised as he interrupted her. “Did he just touch your rear?” he asked her.
When she said yes, Abad asked her to put the man in front of the camera. “Put this idiot on,” he said.
Video showed Balado sighing before acquiescing and confronting the man. “As much as you want to ask me what channel we’re from, do you really have to touch my rear?” Balado asked. “I’m live on air and I’m working.”
As the man denied that he had touched her, Balado attempted to end the interaction. “I would like you to let me work,” she said. The man continued to insist he had not touched her, even as he reached out again, this time touching her hair as he left.
As the host of the show expressed shock over what had happened, Balado apologised. “No, you have nothing to feel sorry for,” said Abad. “It makes me so mad.”
Soon after Balado explained that the man was lingering in the street. “It’s not just me, it’s happening to every woman he comes across,” she said. As she told the camera that the incident had made her nervous, the man approached again, telling her to tell the truth about what had happened.
The company that owns the broadcaster said on Tuesday it had called the police and that they had arrived on the scene within minutes. “We fully support Isa Balado, reporter for En Boca de Todos, after the absolutely intolerable situation she has suffered today,” said Mediaset España.
As tributes to Balado’s professionalism poured in on social media, many sought to contextualise the incident within the reckoning against everyday sexism that has gripped the country in recent weeks.
“Not so long ago, something like this would have passed for something anecdotal or nothing serious,” Rita Maestre, a politician with the leftwing Más Madrid party, wrote on social media. “Today, common sense tells us that these behaviours are intolerable. That change is called feminism.”
