Mexican women behind viral video on sexual harassment get threats

Mexico City, May 12 (EFE). — Four young Mexican women who reignited debate about women’s rights with a video cataloguing instances of flagrant sexual harassment on the streets of this capital say they have received death threats.

“Our phones ring all day with advisories of harassment, threats, and they send us pictures of dismembered women,” one of the group said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At first there were comments about our appearance and later they continued with death threats.”

The video, “Girls Confront their Harassers,” has received nearly 260,000 views on YouTube since the women posted it on May 6.

Two of the four women strolled down Mexico City streets clad in black, while the other two filmed their encounters with men who let loose with whistles, catcalls and obscenities.

In one scene, a young man masturbates while following the pair, while another segment shows one man commenting to another as they cross the women’s path: “They’re lesbians.”

“We lifted the lid on a sewer of the worst there is in Mexico,” one of the video makers said. “Homophobia, classism ... they call us blacks, fatties, servants. They are homophobic, misogynistic and sexist, we expose it all.”

The women are seen confronting the harassers, asking, “Do you have something to say to us?” In most cases, the men fumble for words before offering an apology.

Harassment of women in public is a serious problem in Mexico City, where 65 percent of female subway riders have reported being harassed, according to data from survey firm YouGov.