A young woman has told of the disturbing moment a stranger inappropriately touched her in broad daylight during her morning walk.
Reality TV star Ellie Rolfe, from Western Australia, was out on her regular walk on Tuesday when a man on a bicycle began following her around the block.
He then unexpectedly groped her from behind — causing her to drop her phone out of shock.
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“I was on my morning walk and this boy, probably my age, rode his bike past me and said, ‘Hey’, to which I acknowledged politely,” the 30-year-old shared on her Instagram Story.
“Then he followed me around the block twice and circled back and rode up behind me and fully groped my a**.
“It knocked my phone out of my hand because it gave me such a fright and I looked up and he just zoomed off on his bike.”
Rolfe said she was lost for words after the unsettling encounter.
“NO WORDS! Like what the f***. How is that okay in your head?” she raged.
“Huge mental health advocate and you never know what someone is going through BUT this is just utter disrespect and scary. Not even safe on a bloody morning walk in broad daylight.
“It is never ok to inappropriately touch anyone without consent. SHOCKED!”
At first, she was hesitant to post about her experience on social media — but she decided to speak out to raise awareness.
In a follow-up post, Rolfe said she was “absolutely gobsmacked by how much love, support and concern” she received from her 28,000 followers.
“Crazy to think I actually thought I shouldn’t share because I felt ‘petty’, which speaks to how women are made to feel in these scenarios I suppose?” she explained.
“So many people (women) expressing similar things happening to them in places they should feel safe… Which should be everywhere, really.
“I don’t know where to go from here… But I guess awareness and not being ashamed to share your experience!”
By sharing her story, she hopes young boys are “educated” so they can “grow into men who know how wrong this behaviour is and how detrimental it can be”.
“Obviously, any form of sexual assault/harassment applies to all sexes/non-binary,” she said.
“Be safe out there.”
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