Warning: This article contains discussion of sexual harassment which some readers may find distressing.
A chilling clip from a new, insightful documentary has highlighted the scary behaviour that women are subjected to by men while on holiday overseas.
Ellie Flynn and Emily Birtley are undercover journalists that decided to wear hidden cameras to capture footage for the new Channel 4 investigative film titled Magaluf Undercover: Predators and Parties.
The pair attempt to go undercover as party-goers on the famous Punta Ballena party strip, pretending to be drunk to see if men would try and take advantage of them.
Over a number of days, the two were secretly filmed by a film crew as they pretended to be intoxicated on a beach, in clubs and on the strip itself.
Ellie would later face an uncomfortable exchange with a man while alone on the beach, but before that, one of her first experiments had already exposed what nightlife can be like in the area.
The scene from the documentary, which aired last night (1 November), showed Ellie and Emily sitting together while ‘drunk’, with the crew noting which men paid particular attention to them.
There were some chilling occasions where Ellie was followed and harassed by a man around town as he thought that she was drunk, which started when he saw the two sat down together and thought that they were drunk. He appeared to have been watching them for 10 minutes.
When Ellie left Emily’s side and walked back up the road alone, the same man followed her, signalling to his mates that he was going to pursue her in an area where she was most isolated.
The documentary sheds light on the number of women that get harassed on holiday overseas (Channel 4)
After approaching her, he refused to leave her alone even after she didn’t show any interest, though he eventually relented and stepped away as the crew advised her to head back to Emily.
A second man then approached her and tried his luck, though she continued to show no interest.
“He seemed to be alerting his friends… that he was going to target a vulnerable, drunk girl, and his friends were like ‘yeah cool’ and just stood there while he did it,” Ellie said of the incident.
“To see something happen… in such a targeted, orchestrated way was really shocking – I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
After this, the first man continued to follow her, not just back to her friend, but around town with his friends, almost waiting for the opportunity to make another approach.
A second man didn’t want to leave her alone after the first man stepped away (Channel 4)
A survey was carried out as part of the documentary, with a quarter of participants, both men and women aged 18 to 35, admitting to experiencing sexual assault, while one in ten described experiencing a sex act being carried out without consent.
The documentary highlights the issues that women in particular have to face in nightlife overseas, and how certain behaviours from men can make them feel unsafe.
Magaluf is located in the Majorcan region of Calvia, which has the highest number of reported sexual assaults per inhabitant in the whole of Spain.
The island of Majorca is well-known for its party and drinking culture, which is led by the many British and European tourists that visit each year.
Magaluf Undercover: Predators and Parties is available to stream now, on Channel 4.
