‘They don’t know what effect the act is having on the other person,’; Avika Gor talks about trauma of sexual harassment

Television actress Avika Gor known for her performance in the famous show Balika Vadhu recently addressed the pressing issue of sexual harassment. In an interview with Hauterrfly she recounted having faced a similar experience while in Kazakhstan. “I remember someone touched me from behind. When I turned back, there was only the security guard. I remember when I was going on stage, someone tried to touch me from behind. As soon as I turned back, I remembered that I had only seen the security guard and no one else. I remember that it was going to happen for the second time and I stopped it,” Avika said. 

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There is no uniform response to sexual harassment. The response varies as per the situation and the personality of an individual. A common thread however is the lifelong trauma faced as a result of it. “It is shameful… I just looked at him and was like, 'What?' and he just apologised. So what do I do after that? So I just let it go. They don't know what effect the act is having on the other person. If I had the courage to turn around and give it, then I would have hit a lot of people by now. Now I think I can do it, but I hope it doesn't come to that,” Avika added.