How An Influencer Was Stalked On Solo Trip To Goa And What She Did For The Next 5 Days

Stalking is one of the most common forms of harassment that has been extensively showcased by Bollywood in a positive light. Pick a movie from the early 1990s and 2000s, it will most likely be based on stories of assiduous stalking, which were portrayed as buoyant acts to win over the romantic interest.

More than two decades later, not much has changed. Woman are still being stalked, such cases still taken lightly and stalkers still roaming free, passing lewd comments on women -- just a normal day for them.

Horror story of stalking

A similar case has come to light on social media. A woman who is a popular influencer took to Linkedin to share, in a detailed post, her horrific experience on a solo trip to Goa.

Lakshmi Devan shares that while on a recent trip to Goa, she was stalked and harassed by a person who tracked her down to where she was staying. And this, despite having not shared anything about where she was on social media.

This indicates that the person might be stalking her for a while and deducing her movements accurately ¨C which is pretty chilling. This person, she says, "refused to leave until I met them and accepted the gifts they¡¯d brought for me."

Linkedin post

"Was too shaken up"

Lakshmi made a complaint and had the matter dealt with, but understandably, was frightened now. "¡­for the next 5 days, I was too shaken up to leave my room," she says. "I barely slept. I triple-checked my doors and windows. I just ate take-out and cried myself to sleep."

On top of that, the incident was blamed on her. "I was told that I shouldn¡¯t have travelled alone since I¡¯m a woman. I shouldn¡¯t be ¡°so open¡± on LinkedIn."

"I was asked why my Instagram profile was public when it had pictures of me in a swimsuit?" she wrote on Linkedin.

Lakshmi Devan goes on to say in her post ¨C "Here¡¯s a huge f*ck you to everyone who has no idea what it is to live with rape anxiety and still won¡¯t stop blaming women for gender-based violence."

"My heart goes out to all women"

"Every woman I know has held her keys in her hand as she walked across the parking lot. Every woman I know has made a fake phone call in a cab. Every woman I know has had to enter a shop to avoid being followed at some point. Every woman I know has had a man threaten her safety in some way when she said no to a date."

Linkedin post

"My heart goes out to all the women in the world today. Here¡¯s a picture of me in my swimsuit and if you think I¡¯m ¡°asking for it¡±, you can go to hell. I don¡¯t want hide anymore. Let¡¯s share our stories and amplify our voices. Let the world know how it feels. Maybe then change will come," she concluded with a picture of her, smiling, with a flower in her hair and hope in her eyes.

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