I’d like to report an incident.

I often head home for lunch. So, on Tuesday, June 5th about 12:30 pm, I cycled my bicycle home for lunch when my chain broke (a chronic problem), forcing me to push my bike the rest of the way home.  As I entered our lane (Vidhans Lane, off Columbothurai), a man was leaning up against his bicycle.  He immediately began squeezing his breast and pointing at my breast in a lewd manner.  sign at police station Three story police station Quickly, it became clear that he was inappropriate and so, I swore loudly at him in English (F.. off) and kept walking.  He hopped back on his bike and cycled ahead of me into my side lane. At that point, I stopped walking and attempted to make a phone call to Bill, who I knew was likely at home at the end of the lane. However, the direct sunlight on the phone display prevented me from reading the numbers programmed into the phone. Then, the man cycled back out of the side lane and so, as I thought he was leaving, I entered the lane.  However, he followed me into the side lane on his bicycle, passed me, then turned around, stopped his bike in front of me and began squeezing his breast again. I yelled and swore at him again, but then he tried to grab my breast as I passed.  I kept walking with the bike and quickly got inside my gate. I sent Bill out in search and armed with a broomstick, but the man had disappeared.  He was a tall, thin Tamil (I think) man about 20-25 years old, well groomed and in a black and red golf shirt and black jeans. I think his bike was a Lumina, but cannot be sure.  He never spoke but seemed quite determined, almost like he was psychotic. This was disconcerting as he appeared to know where I lived, he was not easily intimidated by my shouting and he was quite determined. Also, another female VSO lives in the apartment above us and there are young girls in the area. I asked a neighbor lady to let the other neighbours know of this incident. My organization insisted on me making a police report and accompanied me to the police station. At the police station, despite a long line up of disheveled and tired looking men and women, "Dr. Nordick" was hustled to the front of the line and then immediately ushered in to see the Chief Inspector of the Jaffna Police Department. Clad in running shorts and T-shirt, t he Chief apologized for the man's behavior, gave me his personal cell phone numbers, advised me to call him at any time should I feel unsafe and assured me that they take this type of "crime" very seriously. He wasn't much interested in my statement, the description of the man or the map that I had drawn, although he directed a duty officer to take a statement. With help from a junior officer, he brainstormed about how to not have to re-write my statement into the notebook. The younger one cleverly began carefully tearing off the margins of my statement in order for it to fit in his notebook and then they carefully glued my written statement into the large notebook. I was dismissed with a friendly handshake and another apology on behalf of Sri Lankan men. police vehicle By that time, I had had to repeat my story many times over. Word traveled like a wild fire. I was beginning to formulate a pretty good idea about what it must be like for a woman who was truly violated in some way; repeating the story over and over to strangers, pointing to body parts in a society where sexual body parts are not acknowledged, never mind mentioned. I began to understand what it might mean in a society where being touched meant you might not receive a marriage proposal, the source of economic security for many women. I became aware that this type of incident was most likely highly underreported. Even I felt a bit powerless by the end of it all. I am ok and am not upset, but it did make me pause to wonder. Bill and I are a bit more vigilant now in case this guy comes back, although was likely a random act.