Touched on the neck by a visually impaired person
I (29F) feel like i might be low key overreacting so wanted to get your opinion on this.
This afternoon I was walking from the green line to circle line at Buona Vista. Saw this visually impaired man who was asking for help but no one stopped for him, so I approached him and told him that I was also walking to the circle line, why not walk together.
He placed his hand on my shoulder (usually visually impaired people will hold your shoulder or elbow) but after walking for about 2 mins I felt his fingers on my neck. I told him to stop, he apologised and we continued walking. Another minute later, I felt his fingers on my neck again and I told him again to stop. He kept asking if it’s because I was ticklish, I said no, then said that he has a nurse who allows him to touch her neck.
I immediately told him that I don’t like it, and to stop. Didn’t want to leave him there as we were on the escalator and it seemed quite dangerous to just abandon someone who’s visually impaired there. He stopped touching my neck, then started to caress my hair. Again, I told him to stop, and luckily by then we already reached the circle line so he got on his train and left.
I’m struggling now because I feel quite violated and wish I was more firm and even think that I should have just ditched him even if we were on the escalator, but also I feel terrible that he’s visually impaired and might have fallen if I left him alone.
Netizens’ comments
- I’d report him to the police. Not right to make use of others empathy towards you to commit a crime. If u felt harassed, u r being harassed. You’re most probably not his first victim. Maybe that’s why nobody helped him in the first place.
- That’s a big yikes.
I don’t think it’s overreacting at all if you’ve already told him to stop it and yet he keeps doing this shit. And the question he asked is just fucking weird.
Being visually impaired doesn’t give you a free pass for being a creep. - i want to preface this by saying disability and crime is not mutually exclusive. you can be disabled and still commit a crime.
having a disability isn’t a free pass for someone to commit any sort of crime, and that includes indecent acts towards another person.
make no mistake: he is the perpetrator and should be punished as such, you are the victim and should not be made to feel otherwise. report it and he will be punished accordingly, let the io/judge decide if his disability is a mitigating factor, but absolutely do not let him get away scot free with this type of disgusting behaviour, he will only be emboldened to continue similar crimes.