'Men also face sexual harassment'; singer shares friend's experience

Singer Chinmayi Sripada stated that sexual harassment is not limited to women alone. She made the remark on social media platform X while recalling a personal experience shared by one of her friends.

Chinmayi revealed that her friend used to carry a safety pin to protect himself from sexual harassment by elderly men while travelling on buses. She said she realised at the age of 17 that men can also be victims of such abuse, after hearing a classmate speak openly about his experience.

'I was 17 years old when a young male classmate spoke during a German class about carrying a safety pin to avoid sexual harassment from dirty, elderly men while travelling on buses. Until then, I believed that only girls and women faced such experiences. At that moment, I realised that men are also sexually abused. That was 20 years ago,' Chinmayi wrote on X.

Her post comes in the backdrop of the suicide of Deepak (42), a native of Govindapuram in Kozhikode, following allegations of sexual harassment on a bus. Chinmayi also reshared several social media posts related to the incident.

In connection with Deepak’s suicide, the police recently arrested Shimjitha Mustafa, a native of Vadakara in Kozhikode district. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and is currently lodged at the Manjeri sub-jail.