Photo: Facebook
She said no to a stranger who was hitting on her. He knocked her unconscious.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Jul 17, 2019
A British college student was trying to enjoy a night out with a friend in Manchester when she faced a problem all too familiar to women everywhere: men who wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Gabrielle Walsh was getting ready to leave a club with her male friend when several men started trying to get her attention. She ignored them for a while, then turned and said: “I’m sorry, I’m not interested.” The men responded by physically attacking her and her friend.
Gabrielle sustained injuries to her eye and her friend had cuts and scrapes on his face after the incident. Now police are trying to find the identities of the attackers. Who is Gabrielle Walsh?
1. Night out
The Manchester Evening News reports that Gabrielle was out at a club during the weekend of July 13th. She was with a male friend named Kyle and the two of them were ready to call it a night around 3:30 am and head home when three men approached them on a street corner. Gabrielle recalls that she had just taken off her shoes. She said: "...this guy came over and said 'I like your feet.’ I just said OK and we tried to walk away. They kept walking behind trying to talk to me.”
The attack happened over the weekend.
2. Attack
Gabrielle and Kyle kept walking, hoping the three men would lose interest and leave them alone but they showed no sign of giving up, according to the New York Post. They kept harassing the pair of friends and asked Gabrielle, “Who are you with, specky four eyes?' and pointed at Kyle who was wearing glasses. Gabrielle finally turned to the men and said: “I'm sorry, I'm not interested.” After she said that, one of the men punched her in the face knocking her totally unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she found Kyle had also been attacked. The men had taken his glasses and left him with cuts and scrapes on his face.
She was punched in the eye.
3. Village Angels
The injured pair were helped by members of a community safety program called the Village Angels. Originally founded in 2011, the Village Angels volunteer in the Gay Village section of Manchester to help LGBTQ+ people and others trying to enjoy a night out safely. According to their website, their work includes: “These range from helping people to report crimes to responding to mental health crises and helping people who are alone and vulnerable to get home safely. The Village Angels will often be the first people on the scene when serious medical incidents occur in the Village, and will provide basic first aid and manage the incident until paramedics arrive.”
The Village Angels volunteers helped Kyle and Gabrielle and offered to call an ambulance. The pair declined and took a cab to the hospital instead, where they were treated and released.
The case is drawing commentary.
4. Long term effects
The injuries Gabrielle sustained are more serious than she initially thought. After receiving first aid the night of the attack, she went home with some drops for her eyes and hoped things would get better soon. But she discovered that she was having trouble seeing out of the injured eye and sought more medical attention. She told the Machester Evening News: "I went back to the eye hospital today and they said I've got a blood clot on my eye. It still can't really see out of it, when I open my eye all I see is yellow,” she said.
She has a blood clot on her eye.
5. Police investigating
Police in Manchester are taking this attack seriously and they are asking the public to help them identify the attackers, according to the Manchester Evening News. They are also reviewing CCTV footage from the area where Gabrielle was assaulted, hoping that there will be film of the attackers that they can use to track them down. Chief Inspector Cherie Buttle of GMP’s City Centre Division said: "This was a violent and unprovoked attack upon a young woman who was simply minding her own business during a night out. We are determined to find those responsible for this cowardly assault and would appeal to anyone who has information to come forward as soon as possible.”
Police are asking for help from the public.
6. Common problem
After the assault, Gabrielle commented on the prevalence of men harassing women, saying: “Girls feel like they can't say 'no'.They feel like if they say 'no' then they might hurt you and in this case it was true.” NPR reports that a 2018 survey found that 81% of women in the US have reported experiencing some form of harassment including “verbal forms of sexual harassment, like being catcalled or whistled at or getting unwanted comments of a sexual nature. It also includes physical harassment, cyber harassment and sexual assaults.” 66% of the women surveyed said that the harassment had occurred in a public place, just like what happened to Gabrielle.
Steps to help a friend at risk of violence.
If you have been a victim of harassment or assault and need help, you can contact the National Street Harassment Hotline or the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) for assistance and support.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.