How Lucy fell out and in love with India

It’s a sheer disgrace for me to translate something of this kind, but it’s equally important for everybody to know about what a British woman went through, while she was on a tour to India.

Lucy Hemmings, 27-year-old, was at Mumbai bus stop, where she was left shaken after a man publicly masturbated while staring at her.

She decided to post the incident on her blog, wherein she wrote how disgusting she felt on experiencing something like that.

After publishing her Lucy’s Miles Away travel blog she has received ample apologies from various people in India.

A man wrote, “On behalf of my fellow countrymen I would like to apologise for what happened.”

“It is truly disheartening to know that you have had such an experience while you were in my country… I pray that you will have a safer environment from now on,” he added.

Another Indian well-wisher wrote that they felt “ashamed and sorry”, while another said: “A bunch of people, out of a billion population, make the whole of India ashamed. “So I just thought to say sorry (on behalf of everyone in India). I know you have moved on… but I still believe a sorry could make a difference.”

“From the corner of my eye, to my horror, I realised that he had pulled out his penis and was masturbating, staring intently at me,” she wrote.

“I felt sick.”

Hemmings wrote that although she respected Indian culture by covering herself completely in loose clothes and had followed safety advice about travel and conduct with strangers, it was not the first time something similar had happened.

She told a leading international daily, that she found it really frustrating because she has been someone who really loves interacting with people and she really struggled because suddenly she was afraid to look at people.

The former Bournemouth University student said she had no idea of the impact her blog would have and hopes it will encourage other women to talk about their experiences of sexual harassment around the world.

It could easily have provoked a really negative reaction but it’s been absolutely wonderful and so humbling that people are writing to me to say they are sorry, she added.