The women were filmed without their knowledge
Women in the north-west of England say they feel unsafe after videos taken of them on nights out without their knowledge have gained millions of views on social media and attracted a slew of misogynistic comments.
Police say they are now actively trying to catch the person making the videos.
They are asking anyone who has been filmed to come forward.
Meg, 23, from Manchester, was a victim of the disturbing social trend.
The make up artist and TikTok influencer said she was filmed on a night out in Manchester. She said she did not realise she had been filmed until she was sent a link to the video.
“I didn’t see him, I didn’t know I was being recorded,” she said.
“I can’t believe I’ve been targeted in that way. He looked at me and thought ‘yeah, I’ll video them’.”
The video of Meg was posted by a stranger on the same night it was filmed
Meg said she was filmed while walking along Deansgate with two women she did not know. She had noticed they were being harassed by a group of men and offered to walk with them.
“I just walked with them to get a taxi, so we were all together,” she said.
“I just ended up having a little conversation with them.”
The video of Meg was posted later that night by a stranger.
It is one of dozens uploaded daily to platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, usually on the same night they are filmed.
The clips, which are often titled “Manchester nightlife” or “Liverpool nightlife”, have racked up millions of views along with an abundance of misogynistic comments.
“I have no words really other than it just made me feel a bit sick,” she said.
“It’s just not nice at all, and obviously not just in a selfish way, but also towards the other women. A lot of them will be really, really young girls, maybe even underage girls not knowing that they were being recorded.
“There’s videos of girls like falling over and having their underwear on show and stuff. And then being posted online like that, something really needs to be done about it.”
Meg (right) was filmed while walking along Deansgate in Manchester with two other women
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says it is actively working to catch the people making the videos.
Officers are being briefed on the situation ahead of their shifts.
GMP said although it is not illegal to film people in public, if the action is causing distress or harassment it could be considered criminal.
PCs Ellison and Seu from GMP said it could be difficult to spot people filming due to the technology they use.
“A lot of people speak to their phone as they’re walking past,” PC Ellison said.
“We don’t know if they’re videoing or not as they’re going up the street. So it can be quite hard to get that one.”
PC Seu said one woman had approached him about being filmed.
“She said he had like little Ray Ban glasses and at the corner was a camera that flashed red,” he said.
The clips attracted a slew of misogynistic comments
Ch Insp Stephen Wiggins of GMP’s City of Manchester central district urged anyone who has been filmed or featured in the videos to come forward.
“We are very much up against it if we don’t get that intelligence, that information, coming from the actual victims and communities themselves,” he said.
“We have intervened recently on a number of occasions where we had males acting suspiciously in the city centre.
“So our plea from our organisation is that people ring us if they see any suspicious behaviour in the city centre and will make sure that will be there.”
Chief Inspector Stephen Wiggins said GMP was trying to catch the people making the videos
Charlotte, from Trafford Rape Crisis, is calling on social media platforms to shut the accounts down.
She said the victim-blaming nature of the comments made it harder for people who had experienced sexual violence to come forward.
“It absolutely is a direct causal link to sexual violence,” she said.
“These sorts of victim-blaming commentaries introduce another level of shame.
“That becomes a barrier to women accessing the support.”
TikTok and YouTube said they had removed a number of videos and accounts relating to this content for violating the guidelines.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “Misogyny is prohibited on TikTok. Any content found to violate these guidelines will be removed.”
For Meg, the day the accounts are shut down cannot come soon enough.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to be posted online without consent.
“These videos are creating almost a danger of violence towards women.
“The video that was took of me was posted on the same night. So if I was still out that night and that video was posted, that creates some sort of danger of violence I believe.”
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