This Video Of A Stranger Abusing A Reporter Is A Reminder Of The Shit Women Journos Cop Daily
How hard is it to not be a dickhead?
Maggie Raworth, a 24-year-old reporter for 9News, has shared a video of a total stranger harassing and verbally abusing her simply for doing her job, shining a light on just a fraction of the shit women journos have to put up with on a daily basis.
Raworth was doing a piece to camera outside Ballarat Court earlier this week when a man began hurling verbal abuse from a passing car. The stranger then parked the car and walked over to continue the abuse, seemingly unfazed by the fact that the camera was still rolling.
In the video, the man can be heard telling Raworth to “get a real job”, calling her “a lying piece of shit”, and body-shaming her, saying “give it five fucking years and you’ll be out of a job, all wrinkled-up and shit. I mean, you’re already getting fat and that, so fuck.”
Raworth handles the abuse with incredible patience and dignity, repeatedly asking the man “what’s your problem, sir? What have I personally done to you?”. Eventually, she pulls out her phone and begins to film him, at which point he gives her the finger and crows “yeah, film me bitch!”
Man walks up to woman in the street and abuses her. Because he’s a complete tool. Well done @MaggieRaworth on handling this so coolly. https://t.co/cYSNEsCkFW
— Brett Mcleod (@Brett_McLeod) November 7, 2017
Raworth later told 9News she began filming because she was concerned for her safety and thought the man might hit her. She also told news.com.au that this kind of incident is not out of the ordinary.
“It happens all the time, every TV journalist can say that happens to them almost on a daily basis,” she said. I get yelled at from cars all the time, it’s just part of the job.”
Women journalists also tend to cop extraordinary abuse online, ranging from pretty awful comments about their appearance to actual death threats. It’s profoundly fucked up. As Raworth herself put it, “nobody deserves to be spoken to like that and you shouldn’t just have to accept people speaking to you in that manner.”
If you want to get real mad, you can see the full video below. Don’t be a dickhead.
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Photo via Maggie Raworth on Facebook