Woman trailed to Pilates class by stranger with phone, netizens debate legality

Independent Singapore

4 days ago

SINGAPORE: In a current viral Reddit post, a young woman narrated a troubling happenstance: a man she didn't know and had never seen before trailed her all the way to her Pilates class, with a camera phone in hand, purportedly taking photos of her. She labelled him as a 'pervert,' distressed by the fact that even in a public space, she felt anything but safe.
But the story didn't end with her embarrassment. In the comment section of that Reddit post, there was a torrent not just of empathy, but of piercing discussions, legal opinions, and painful truths about how people navigate shared spaces in the era of smartphones. 'It's legal – but is it right?'
A repeated theme from netizens was this: taking photos of people in public, while scary, isn't prohibited. 'As vile or repulsive as one may find it, taking photos of others in a public space is not an offence,' one user said. 'It's a big stretch to prove harassment.'
Legally speaking, they're correct. In most territories, the right to privacy doesn't cover public situations. If someone's out in the open, photos can be taken of them, whether they're aware of it or not, or if they are comfortable with it.
That reality was unsettling to many readers, particularly in a situation where a woman feels followed and objectified. 'Imagine you're just using your phone and someone thinks your angle looks suspicious—and suddenly people pin you down,' another commenter remarked, alluding to that the man in question was confronted physically. 'Those guys are lucky they didn't get charged.' When behaviour crosses a line
However, others were quick to point out that there's a difference between taking a photo in a leisurely manner and following someone around.
'This is textbook stalking,' a commenter stressed. 'Nobody should be alarmed if they had their photo taken by a stranger in public. But if that stranger starts following them around, anybody would feel threatened.'
There certainly is a key difference. While the law might not plainly outline this grey zone, informally and ethically speaking, the responses were far more unified. Trailing someone for a long period alters a permissible act into one of danger. One user even questioned why the man hadn't been detained, saying that constant following could be viewed as aggravation and harassment in many other legal systems. Freedom of expression or lack of respect?
Another aspect of the conversation spun around clothes and permission, a theme as old as the public decorum dispute itself.
Some contended that if a woman is donning form-fitting clothes in public, she tacitly invites attention. 'The same liberty that allows you to dress how you want,' one person claimed, 'also extends to others being able to photograph you.'
Another commenter chimed in, 'If you don't think your outfit is too sexual, then the photos of it shouldn't be either.'
But many discussants were quick to call this reasoning defective and risky. The notion that someone's clothing choices one way or another reduce their right to feel safe is a fragment of a bigger societal problem, one that has long beleaguered discussions about consent.
'There's a difference between looking and leering, between existing and stalking,' one netizen snapped. 'Not her fault, but…' – A troubling perspective
As anticipated in situations like this, some remarks faintly deviated into victim-blaming. One user wrote: 'Not blaming her for her dressing or anything, but it's not an offence to take pictures. So, I don't get what she's so upset about.'
Another weighed in, 'If this keeps happening to her, maybe she's unlucky—or maybe she's drawing attention with how she dresses.'
Such views, while often outlined as concern or reason, echo a societal inclination to place responsibility on women to foil wicked actions from others, instead of holding the wrongdoers liable. The bigger picture
This Reddit thread mirrors more than just one person's bad day. It's a picture of a society grappling with the restrictions of what is legal and what is decent, amidst the changing standards of a digital world.
Yes, public spaces are shared, and yes, people have the right to take pictures of what they see. But when the camera lens turns into an instrument for terrorisation, or when people feel panic-stricken rather than observed, the conversation needs to shift.