A new mum and her friend were left horrified after a man stepped out of the bushes ‘violently masturbating’ in front of them on Sydney Beach, Australia.
The incident took place yesterday afternoon, Thursday January 30, as the pair were walking up from Wattamolla beach through Royal National Park bushland to their car.
Talking to 7News, the woman – who wished to remain anonymous – said:
He was violently masturbating at us. We yelled at him and tried to take a video to pass along to police, he wasn’t fazed at all and continued going at it while staring at us and following us on the track.
The culprit was described as a Caucasian male between the age of 30 and 40, and he was believed to be wearing a camera round his neck.
He was said to be wearing a khaki hat with black flap, khaki shirt and khaki boots.
A second incident is also said to have happened yesterday at Salmon Haul Reserve in Cronulla between 7pm and 8pm, where a man exposed himself to another woman.
The culprit ran away after the woman went to tell other people what happened.
This man was described as a ‘tall and skinny’ Caucasian male aged in his 20s with dark short hair, wearing a black t-shirt and blue and white shorts.
In a Facebook post seen by 7News, the poor woman said she felt ‘sick that he was probably there watching for over an hour’.
She also warned other women thinking of visiting the Salmon Haul Reserve alone or at night to ‘trust your intuition if something feels weird’.
In a Facebook post, Sutherland Shire Police and Command wrote:
Sutherland Shire Detectives are investigating two separate acts of indecency reports which have occurred at Cronulla and Wattamolla yesterday (Thursday 30/01/2020).
The first incident occurred at Wattamolla Beach about 5.15pm where a male has exposed himself and performed an act of indecency towards a female. He is described as a Caucasian male, about 30-40 years old, wearing a Khaki hat with black flap, khaki shirt and khaki boots.
The second incident occurred at Salmon Haul Reserve (Cronulla) between 7pm and 8pm where a male has exposed himself and performed an act of indecency towards a female and then ran away when she spoke to other people. He is described as a Caucasian male, about 20 years old, tall and skinny, dark short hair, wearing a black t-shirt and blue and white shorts.
Sexual harassment is defined by charity Victim Support as ‘any kind of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes you feel humiliated or intimidated, or that creates a hostile environment’.
It can come in many different forms including verbal harassment, sexual jokes, and sexual advances – something the women in Australia unfortunately experienced.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 802 9999 between 12pm–2.30pm and 7pm– 9.30pm every day. Alternatively, you can contact Victim Support free on 08 08 16 89 111 available 24/7, every day of the year, including Christmas.
Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.