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A woman has called for pubs to introduce a 'one strike' rule to remove disruptive customers after she and a female friend, also 38, were 'harassed' by a man.
ITV Wales sports presenter Beth Fisher, 38, documented the ordeal on Twitter after it happened.
She questioned whether there's anywhere where women can feel safe after the incident and urged her followers to call out offensive behaviour.
Writing on Twitter, Beth said: "Genuinely are we as women not safe anywhere? Here’s a thread of something that happened to me and my best friend tonight in a pub in Marlow.
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"I went to the bar to order drinks. I got asked by a man where I was from. Fine right? But he then stroked my back but I played it off. He made a joke which I 'laughed' at......longing him to just go away.
"He then asked my best friend, 'Where are you from?' She answered 'Wales.'"
Beth suggested that the man was not satisfied with her answer, and was attempting to find out her ethnic background.
"Him: 'No where are you actually from ORIGINALLY'. My BF’s heritage is Welsh Indian in case you’re wondering like him. I told him straight that you cannot ask someone that.
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"His response? He touched her nose & said 'You’ve got nice eyes'."
Beth continued: "He then touched her thigh in a creepy way, we laughed it off nervously & he went away."
"Some time passed by & he asked whether him & his friend could join our table.
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"We responded firmly, 'No thanks, we’re catching up'.
"He persistently asked what we meant by 'catching up'.
"I asked him firmly again to leave us alone which he told me to 'SHUT UP'."
Beth explained in a tweet it was at this point when she asked staff to get involved and she started recording the man on her phone.
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"He clearly asks the manager not to touch him but he touched us at least half a dozen times???? The manager of the bar didn’t chuck him out but just called his behaviour 'peculiar'."
The manager's comment did not sit well with Beth, who later tweeted: "It wasn’t 'peculiar' it was racial discrimination & sexual harassment in a bloody pub at 6.30 pm!!!!!
"Please can EVERYONE do better at calling out & dealing with this type of behaviour because it’s happening bloody everywhere."
In the clip the man can be heard berating Beth and her friend. “We don’t want you here in Marlow,” he said, before being led away.
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After her Twitter threat went viral, Beth filmed a video where she called for pubs to introduce a "one-strike” rule.
“What happened last night was not unusual for any woman out there. I’ve probably had it happen to me so many times I’ve lost count.”
“The pub should have done more. As we were leaving I went back up to the manager and said that his comments about ‘peculiar’ were not good enough.
“This is a call out to any pubs, clubs, bars or coffee shops that if a woman or their friends tell you that they are being harassed then there should be a one strike rule and that person should be told to leave straight away.
“This isn’t our fault as women this is men doing it. Let’s try and implement this one strike rule because I’ve had enough of it and I’m sure everyone else has as well.”
Beth spoke with Tyla about the effect the incident had on her and her friend, who she has known for 31 years. "When he touched my back in a stroking kind of way, it invaded my space," she explained. "There was still a huge part of me that felt I cannot confront him because we are taught to just brush it off as women, which we thought we had.
"If the man hadn’t been as nasty as he had we probably would have shrugged this off as something we experience all the time. If you talk to friends and family, we’ve all been there."
She added: "Male harassment happens in the most ordinary places. It was half past six at night, not that it should matter."
After tagging Brakspear Pubs, the company that owns the pub Beth and her friend visited, they released a statement in response highlighting their zero tolerance policy.
The statement reads: "We operate a zero-tolerance policy of anyone harassing others in our pubs (customers and staff) and fully support those running and working in our pubs if they ask someone to leave for these reasons."
Tyla has contacted Brakspear Pubs for further comment.
Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@BethFisherSportTopics: News