Watch This Badass Georgia Waitress Take Down a Man Who Groped Her at Work
More sexual harassment claims in the U.S. are filed in the restaurant industry than in any other, affecting a reported 90 percent of the women who work in it, according to the Harvard Business Review. One factor in this staggering statistic is that the typical employee on the front lines at most restaurants are young woman. In fact, 71 percent of servers are female.
One of these women, Emelia Holden, took matters into her own hands after a customer at Vinnie Van Go-Go's in Savannah, Georgia casually (and creepily) grabbed her backside as he walked past her. Not willing to just stand there and take it, the video shows Holden grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and taking him down to the ground.
While the video does not have sound, you can see what appears to be Holden scolding the man while he sits on the floor of the restaurant.
According to the Daily Mail, the cops were called to the location and the customer was arrested. He reportedly spent two nights in jail.
"I just did what I felt was best," said Holden, who is 21 years old. "I took the guy down and had my co-workers call the police."
While not every victim of sexual harassment in the workplace will be able to literally take down their abuser, Holden wants people to know that they don't have to put up with that sort of abuse and treatment. "All that I want from my experiences is for women to know that it's okay to stand up for yourself," she said. "You have every right to wear what you want and you most certainly have every right to defend yourself."
And per a Facebook post, that's all that Holden plans to say about the incident. "I appreciate all of the kind words from everyone but I’d also appreciate it if people would stop tagging me in the video," she wrote. "I know what happened, I was there. Also I am NOT I repeat NOT interested in doing interviews on the matter. What’s done is done, he got what he deserved and I’m just trying to live my life.
It goes without saying that the prevalence of workplace harassment in the restaurant industry and beyond is abhorrent and must come to an end. But there is definitely a certain amount of satisfaction in watching a woman use her power to fight back.
Related Stories:
Watch 141 Larry Nassar Survivors Receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2018 ESPYs
Revisiting the Sex and the City #MeToo Episode Nobody Talks About
