Woman confronts man secretly taking her photos on train: 'I was shaking and on the verge of tears'
Gabby admitted she felt embarrassed and anxious about confronting the man. “I was shaking and on the verge of tears,” she said.
A woman travelling alone on a train recently shared a video on Instagram showing her confronting a man who was secretly taking pictures of her. In the clip, Gabby Mostamand, an LA-based model, approaches the passenger after noticing him repeatedly photographing her without consent.
She asks the man, “Excuse me, do you have a problem? Because you keep taking pictures of me and it’s making me very uncomfortable.” The man responds, “I am sorry if you feel that way.” Gabby then points out that she had seen him taking her picture on his phone. She firmly tells him, “You need to stop that. That’s not okay,” before walking back to her seat.
Sharing the video, Gabby explained why she posted it. “Only sharing because I think it’s an important issue, and people don’t understand how much stuff like this happens. People call women ‘rude’ for standing up for themselves and having their guard up… but there’s a reason we have to. This is the reality of our world and you have to look out for yourself,” she wrote.
Gabby admitted she felt embarrassed and anxious about confronting the man. “I was shaking and on the verge of tears, until I went back to my seat and completely broke down,” she said. “I was so embarrassed about the whole situation, even though I shouldn’t have been. The people around me on the train were very supportive and comforted me,” she added.
“Moral of the story—be safe, and don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. There’s no reason why women should face harassment like this,” she concluded.
Social media reactions
In the comments section, social media users praised Gabby for standing up for herself. Many even shared similar experiences, highlighting how women often have to be vigilant in public spaces.
“You stood up and said something and that takes guts. The only way to dissuade gross behavior is to call it out. Letting it slide is equivalent to giving permission as far as this type of person is concerned,” one user wrote.
“We just had an incident like this involving my child. It’s scary, and yet it’s not illegal to take photos in a public place. Whether it’s a child or not. I reported to police and the cafe we were in…cafe just said he’s a regular and would ‘neeeever’ do anything like that,” shared another.
“Well done for standing up against this behaviour,” commented a third.
“The non-apology is just disgusting. As if your feelings of betrayal and invasion aren't valid. I'm so sorry he disrespected you in this way. I'm shocked that no one came to support you in that confrontation too,” wrote one user.
