To extend unlimited help to people battling against thecontagious infection amid the second wave of Covid-19 many non-profit organizations,volunteers, celebrities stepped forward.
The Covid relief work volunteers were just not men butfemales too, who untiringly strived to manage the leads when the medicalinfrastructure and the government’s management of coronavirus turned into anutter failure.
Volunteers especially females who made their contactnumber public to help someone gasping for a breath, desperately looking for anICU beds, etc., have been exposed to sexual harassment.
With the transformation in seeking helpline online thanoffline, the way of bullying and harassing has also found its place on the web.There’s has been no dearth of men who sent unsolicited pictures or messages toopposite sex volunteers at the times when the nation was recording the highest spike inthe daily number of cases and deaths.
A female volunteer, a victim of digital sexual harassmenthas shared her ordeal with bloggers Humans of Bombay, who had put in on theirsocial media handles how she reacted to such pathetic replies.
According to the post, the victim volunteer initiated theCovid relief work after her grandmother contracted the infection before the second wave hit India. Considering the problems she and her family faced whilearranging medications for her grandmother she thought of extending help tothose in need.
As she had a bank of verified leads, she started to put up the stories regarding oxygen, plasma and bed availability and evenshared her own contact details.
Making her number public wasn’t an easy call but shethought who would have time for nonsensical things amid the terrifyingsituation. However, later she realized she was wrong as perverts started to “slideinto her direct messages” the other day.
Some perverts have also sent her unsolicited messages,others asked for phone sex and crossing all the limits strangers also senttheir half-naked pictures especially their genitals.
The blog post further read, the victim could have taken stern action against them but, covid-crisis in the country stopped her.
Rather she followed the “block and ignore” strategy to comeover such pathetic texts.
It further revealed an incident when sexual harassment triggeredher patience to an extreme level and made her the victim of mental stress.
“But once when I received a picture of a man’s genitalson my DM right after I heard about a close one’s demise, I broke down. Mymental health had already gone for a toss; I decided to take a break,” read thepost.
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The victim’s ordeal also unfolded that she wasn’t theonly one who was being tortured or harassed. There were other young volunteerswho had approached her explaining similar incidents.
Other female workers were also hounded by similar callsand unsolicited obscene pictures all throughout the day. Adding more shame tothe male fraternity, these perverts had even asked them for their homeaddresses, and even where they go to school or tuitions.
The victims even tried to remove such predators fromgroups one by one, but the unsolicited texts and pictures did not stop coming.
Divulging the details of how she resumed her work, the blogpost states, one-day volunteer received a text from a girl for helping her outto her mother’s life. This generous message lifted her morale and spirits to dovirtuous deeds and after a week she was elated to be back at work.
It is pertinent to mention here that the victim volunteer hasnot stopped receiving appalling messages and calls but, she practices report andblock mantra to keep mental stress at bay.
She adds, “ I focus my energy on messages like, ‘Thankyou, I got the bed!’”
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