Catcalling is common in Metro Manila’s streets and a problem that many women face every day. That’s what a recent viral video tried to illustrate.
But while many agree with its premise and despite its goal to shed light on sexual harassment, the video also received backlash over the weekend from netizens who questioned the authenticity of the so-called “social experiment.”
The video in question, posted by local news website Kami.com.ph on Thursday, shows a woman wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants being catcalled by various men while standing on sidewalks in Quezon City.
“Social Experiment. A decently dressed girl is standing alone at night, waiting for someone. Turns out this situation is very dangerous!” the video’s caption reads.
“One of the passers-by not only verbally harassed our actress, but after some time also removed his pants right in front of the girl. We did not manage to capture this moment, but the conclusion we have is really disturbing: Harassment is a serious issue in Manila,” the Facebook page claimed.
The most intense part of the video shows a man getting out of his car and forcing the woman to get inside the vehicle.
“It will not take long,” the man says in Filipino. “Promise I’ll bring you home.”
A lot of netizens resonated with the woman’s experience and praised the video for capturing the struggles that Filipino women — especially those who take public transportation — experience every day.
“[E]ven when you’re decently dressed (more so when you’re not), it’s really not safe,” Facebook user Unica Joy Policarpio said.
Ei Vernice, on the other hand, noted that these incidents don’t only happen at night.
“What do you mean at night? This happens even during the day! Happened to me countless times, even in a [high-end mall],” she said in English and Filipino.
“NO means NO!!! [E]verybody should understand that…these men thinking they could just do their moves repeatedly even if the woman has refused,” user Maria Krisel Bulaong said.
Some, like Bianca Sto Domingo Villaverde, even shared a similar incident she experienced recently.
“…out of nowhere there was (sic) these three guys riding their motorcycles and then they asked if I’m waiting for someone and if I would want to go with them, they insist I go with them but I said no,” she said.
However, some also criticized the video for seemingly being staged.
“This looks scripted AF. Don’t get me wrong. All of these things can and do happen a few times a month if you commute daily. But all of those things happening in just one night to the same person? And I seriously doubt you spent a week with such experiment to collect the worst ones,” Audrey Tan Go said.
“Okay, some people say it’s about the message, not the authenticity. Then they shouldn’t claim this as a social experiment but as a reenactment.”
“I get the point. But you need better actors,” Darrell San Andres said.
Robby Mateo had similar thoughts. “[T]here’s nothing wrong in showing scripted skits but if you’re advertising it like its unfiltered real live footage [at least] make it believable,” he said.
While this irked a lot of people, others said they don’t mind that it is staged because the video’s message was more important.
“Let’s say this is all a setup, but let’s accept the fact that it will [at least] help spread the awareness to everyone going home at night alone, especially women,” Facebook user MaLeonor Casumpang said.
“Scripted or not, sexual harassment in the streets HAPPEN [sic] EVERYDAY,” Han De Guzman added.
“Yes I think it’s scripted but sadly it is a possibility! Keep safe,” Ericboi Sanchez said.
The Facebook video had 3.2 million views, 87,000 shares, 74,000 reactions, and more than 22,000 comments as of this article’s posting. It was also posted on YouTube and now has more than 27,000 views.
Did you think the video was staged? Do you mind if it was? Let us know in the comments section below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
