Sexual Harassment & Personal Safety

Sexual Harassment &

Personal Safety Awareness

By

Gabrielle Millard

Hi everyone, thanks for joining us once again!

Following the amazing response we had last week, we decided that we would change it up once more and tell you some important information, some of which is really important to myself, as well as the rest of the team.

As you know, BTS fever has been taking over the country in en mass, resulting in many ARMYs to attend various events such as clubbing nights and meet-ups, but in the past few experiences I have endured, I have known, and experienced events that should never be tolerated. I would just like to fore-warn any of our readers that may be affected by these topics that today we will be mentioning the subject of sexual harassment, so please read at your discretion and if you are attending a BTS concert or event, to please stay safe.

Within the last few months I have been attending a wide array of meetups within the K-Pop community, but these have also been brought with them issues that we shouldn’t have to experience; as ARMYs I know and love, some as young as fourteen and fifteen, have been spoken to inappropriately, harassed and even groped, something no fan should expect to have to endure when going out to have fun with friends. Such a disgusting act should be spoken about, and with many young fans attending alone, or even in group of friends, I want to inform you of how you can stay safe during your time attending these shows, as well as how to report a case that you may witness.

It may sound very obvious but there are many simple things you can do in order to stay safe, especially in such cities like the ones BTS are performing in:

1. Stay with your family/friends at all times.

2. PLEASE keep all personal belongings on you at all times, and keep them secure to prevent theft.

3. If you witness or fall victim of any harassment on the street or even in the venue, which we won’t say will happen but we cannot say it won’t, please report it to the police or security staff instantly, as well as a family member or a close friend if you are able to do so.

4. It is recommended that you DO NOT stand up to the aggressor as this could aggravate the situation. If you witness a form of harassment, ignore the aggressor and make eye contact with the victim. Once you do so, please ask if they are okay.

5. If you are at a pub or a bar, because some older ARMYs do fancy a drink now and again, and you witness any form of harassment but cannot get away, go to the nearest bar or member of staff and ask for “Angela”. There was a campaign brought in during December of 2016, where if you ask a member of staff for “Angela”, they can discreetly book you a taxi and help you get out of a bad situation.

6. If you are on public transport, as soon as you get off, it’s crucial that you report what happened as quickly as possible to the British Transport police, whether that’s by texting (61016), phoning (0800 40 50 40) or telling an officer in person.

Sexual harassment is not a topic you should keep hidden away, but obviously it can be very scary to tell the police. For friends and family of a victim, it is paramount that you support them through all forms of pain following the event, as such a situation can cause people to react in many different ways.

Please encourage the survivor to seek medical attention and to report the assault, but please do not 'push or force' your friend or family member as taking such steps like this can be very worrying, as I know many who do not report the assaults that they face, but at the end of the day you must respect their decision no matter what.

This post is specifically to help encourage speaking out against sexual harassment, as well as warning ARMYs to be vigilant during their time at the concert or even at meetups, as many are in big cities, and we cannot control everybody. In no way do we suggest that such actions will happen, but please remember to be careful wherever you are going in the next few weeks.

If you or anyone you know has faced a situation like this and you would like speak to a professional about this here are some numbers you can call:

Police: 999 or 101
Survivor UK: 0203 598 3898
Survivors Trust: 0808 801 0808
Rape Crisis: 0808 802 9999

In conjunction to this, I will leave a thread that was compiled by our Twitter team which also has some information.

Twitter: @BTSRadioUK

https://twitter.com/BTSRadioUK/status/1036016338723061763

With that, I want to thank you for reading this post, to stay safe, and if you would ever need to talk to someone, I will allow anyone to contact my personal account @NolangKooks
I genuinely hope you have a wonderful week and I will see you again next Saturday, thank you guys.