A chilling TikTok video highlighting the exhausting daily measures women take to avoid harassment has gone viral, amassing over 3 million views and sparking urgent calls for it to be broadcast as a national television advert. The footage has ignited a furious debate about the epidemic of violence against women and girls, with many questioning why the burden of safety always falls on victims.
Commenters on the video have rallied for change, with one writing: 'This should be an advert on national television.' Another posed the question: 'You never hear: “Why can’t men have more self-control?”' The video's popularity underscores growing frustration with the status quo.
To explore solutions, The Mirror spoke to Amy Watson, founder of HASSL (Harassment Awareness & Safe Space Leaders), a global social enterprise launched in October 2024. Watson aims to tackle harassment at its root by redirecting responsibility from women to society as a whole. 'There's just this constant expectation for women to do more and more things and we don't solve the problem; it just plasters over it,' she said.
Watson described violence against women as an 'epidemic' and a 'huge problem' that is universal. She emphasised the need for prevention over reaction: 'Every social issue should be tackled by prevention rather than dealing with it after.' A UN report reveals that every 10 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by a family member globally. In the UK, the Femicide Census found that one in five homicides are domestic, with 898 female victims over the past decade.
Watson shared her own experience of being groped on a crowded train carriage, where she froze despite being surrounded by people. 'There were so many people around, but no one either realised or cared enough to do anything,' she recalled. HASSL has a five-stage plan to address four root causes of violence: systemic sexism and misogyny, barriers to reporting, lack of awareness, and poor public space design. The organisation has completed global surveys and workplace training, and is now in its third stage of expansion.
