A New Zealand woman has spoken out after her horrifying experience while traveling went viral.
Molly, who goes by molsgonewild online, left a chill down every woman’s spine over the weekend after sharing an interaction with a local man during her solo trip across Sri Lanka.
“I debated sharing this – but this is the reality of solo travel as a woman,” she wrote to her Instagram followers.
“During my solo tuk-tuk road trip across Sri Lanka, a man asked for sex and exposed himself to me. It was one of those moments that shakes you a bit, even when you think you’re prepared for anything.”
The clip, which has been shared hundreds of times online, shows Molly sitting in her vehicle when a seemingly harmless man approaches her – but the interaction turns uncomfortable very quickly.
“Have sex?” the man asked.
“Definitely not, no,” said Molly, while trying to be polite.
The man then removes his genitalia from his pants, exposing himself to Molly while repeatedly asking, “please?”
Molly then quickly drove away while asking herself, “what the f—k just happened?”
Now, Molly has spoken out, telling news.com.au that the time she was in shock and unable to process what was really happening.
“He approached me and he seemed nice enough, just like every other Sri Lankan I had encountered … I didn’t expect anything like that to happen,” she said.
Despite the shock, Molly revealed she has travelled all over the world, and these instances aren’t exclusive to foreign countries.
“I’ve been sexually harassed in New Zealand,” she said.
“It’s not a fear that is limited to just traveling. It can happen at home and it can happen in any country you go to.”
It’s a devastating reality for many women, and Molly echoed those sentiments, relaying the great lengths she takes to ensure her safety while traveling alone.
“I exercise extra caution while traveling as a woman. I think you’d be an idiot not to,” she said.
“I always have a pocket knife on me, and I’m very aware of my surroundings.
“Unfortunately, this is the reality for women.
“I’m always quietly suspicious of my interactions with men,” she added.
“Even though many of them are nice, you always have the thought in the back of your head saying: ‘does he want something else from me?’”
In a follow-up video, Molly told her followers that she has received a lot of unexpected comments in response to her clip.
“There was a lot of victim blaming, a lot of people saying ‘that’s what you get’ for solo traveling as a female.”
She revealed that other women had even jumped in, telling her she had “no survival skills.”
“Women should be able to solo travel, we are not the problem,” she said.
“[It’s] the men who don’t know how to behave correctly.”
After Molly left Sri Lanka she made a report with the Tourism Police Department, who responded within 24 hours.
“They were searching for the man two days later. Within five days he had been arrested,” she said.
The man is now facing court.
Molly went on to tell her viewers that despite the bad experience, it is not indicative of travelling solo as a woman.
“I’ve been to so many countries that people label as unsafe and all I have experienced is kindness from locals.”
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