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Woman claims scuba instructor touched her inappropriately underwater: 'I was extremely uncomfortable'
The woman alleged that the contact was “extremely inappropriate” and unrelated to safety or standard scuba training procedures.
A solo female traveller has alleged that a scuba diving instructor touched her inappropriately during a training session in Egypt, sharing a video of the underwater interaction on social media.
The woman, identified as Mediene, posted the clip on Instagram, claiming the incident happened during a dive lesson in Hurghada. In the footage, the instructor can be seen repeatedly touching different parts of her body while they practised diving skills.
Mediene alleged that the contact was “extremely inappropriate” and unrelated to safety or standard scuba training procedures. She said she had to physically move the instructor’s hand away during the dive.
“In this clip you can see my instructor touching different parts of my body in ways that had nothing to do with safety or proper diving instruction. Within seconds you can see me push him away and physically reposition his hand so he stops,” she wrote while sharing the video.
Mediene identified the instructor as Haithem M. Abd El Hamied, describing him as a freelance instructor, and said she shared the video to warn other solo female travellers.
Mediene also spoke about the power imbalance that can exist during underwater activities. “When you are underwater, there is a huge power dynamic. The instructor controls the dive, and many people feel like they have to stay quiet or go along with whatever is happening,” she wrote.
She urged travellers to trust their instincts and set boundaries if something feels wrong during activities like scuba diving. “You do not have to tolerate anything that makes you uncomfortable. You are allowed to push someone away. You are allowed to move their hands. You are allowed to end the dive,” she added. She also advised people to research dive centres carefully and verify freelance instructors’ credentials before booking lessons.
How did social media react?
The video drew strong reactions online, with many users urging the woman to report the incident to the dive centre and relevant diving organisations.
Several professional diving instructors also weighed in, saying that while some physical contact can be necessary during training, the behaviour seen in the clip appeared unusual.
One instructor wrote, “I'm a dive instructor; I can confirm that's weird af. Typically, I will brief students: ‘At some point I will put my hands on either your D-rings or straps to keep you from bolting. For certain skills (equipment removal and replace underwater) I might straighten your legs to keep you down. I may also grab ahold of you if I think you're about to hurt yourself (bolt to the surface). In that instance I will try and grab your fin or one of your straps.’ This is not that, she's no where near the bottom, she's not exhibiting any signs of panicking, this is just creepy and weird."
"Another dive instructor here. Many times you need to make physical contact with the students to help them correct their trim or their buoyancy (most of the time we can do that just touching the equipment)...but this is a huge NO! Completely out of place behavior," said another.
