Man disrupts TV interview about women feeling unsafe in public spaces and refuses to leave

Man disrupts TV interview about women feeling unsafe in public spaces and refuses to leave
  • ITV Granada Reports journalist Anna Youssef was interviewing the mother and daughter when the man interrupted their chat


A mother and daughter telling their story about feeling unsafe in public spaces had to halt their interview - after a man interrupted filming and became aggressive.

Gill Jones was speaking about a family night out which ended in a violent brawl after a stranger tried to sexually assault her daughter Beth Fletcher.

But, just moments after they began, a man - who ITV has chosen to anonymise - appeared and sat in the middle of the park bench, between the women and the journalist.

When it was explained they were filming an ITV News story about a charity event and the man was politely asked if he could wait a few minutes to finish filming, he refused, despite there being other empty benches nearby.

The man then became verbally aggressive and threatening and, for the safety of everyone involved, the group were left with no option but to leave the area.

Ironically, the story they were trying to film was about a campaign by the charity Tomorrow's Women to create more safe spaces for women.

The man interrupted the interview on women's safety and became verbally aggressive and threatening. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Speaking after the incident, Gill said: "I was starting to get a little bit scared to be honest, having experienced what we experienced a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what was going to happen and how that was going to escalate.

"I was already safety planning really quickly, which you don't think you should have to when coming out into a public area."

Her daughter Beth said she believes it is this type of behaviour which can make women feel unsafe in public spaces.

"You could just tell the lack of respect when it came to people in general and their personal space but to women in general - he had no respect whatsoever," she said.

"I absolutely think women we are programmed to be on our guard on a night out.

"The majority of the time its not women going and harassing men. It's not women that are potentially going to spike your drink, it's not women that are getting aggressive towards the men because it is stereotypically the other way round.

"I know obviously it can happen, but they are not subjected to it like us women are, and we do just want to go out and enjoy ourselves, so if we can go somewhere where we know we are not subjected to that attention and behaviour - then we are going to want that, we are going to push for that."

The women were forced to move inside after the incident.

After announcing a women's only club night in Birkenhead, the charity attracted hundreds of hate comments online.

But, it argues the measure is necessary after its research found 93% of women do not feel safe being out alone at night, with 82% not feeling safe in bars or clubs.

Government figures for the past year also reveal almost a quarter of women aged 16 to 24 experienced some form of sexual harassment.

Kate Chadwick from Tomorrow's Women said the backlash was unpleasant but not unexpected. "We’ve had so many hateful comments from men," she said.

"I think all those comments just show the reason why we're doing the event.

"They are very much proving our  point. We have created a safe space for women to enjoy themselves and have a good night out and comments like that have just proven the desperate need for us to do this event."

A vast majority of women feel unsafe while on a night out in either a bar or club research has found.

"So many women don't feel safe going out at night," she added. "They don't feel safe being in bars or clubs, they’ve experienced harassment.

"They cant go out and have just a good night out without worrying about things like this so its so important that we have these types of events where women can go out and enjoy themselves."

The charity says the event is a starting point, but the end goal is to eliminate the fear so many women feel in public places.


If you or somebody you know has been a victim of assault, support is available from the following places:


The following resources are available for anybody who feels unsafe while walking home:

  • WalkSafe app (allows contacts to be notified if you don't make it home and features a map with local issues such as poorly-lit walkways);

  • Strut Safe (phone line for people to call while they're walking home).

If you have been the victim of an assault, you should the police by calling 101, or in the case of an emergency, dial 999.


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