British Woman Refuses to be Groped at Notting Hill Carnival, Gets Punched in Face

A UK woman shared her selfie on Facebook after she was hit by a stranger. The incident took place at the Notting Hill Carnival on Monday, Aug. 25 at around 5:30 in the evening. The stranger allegedly punched her in the face when she did not allow him to grope her.

Mary Brandon posted the "bloody" photo on the social network that was shared by thousands of people so far. She said that she had to spend nine hours in the hospital for medical attention after she had been hit by the stranger. Brandon apparently shared the image to raise awareness against such assault. "Get the word out that this isn't OK," she wrote.

Brandon described the assault in detail. "A man in the crowd grabbed my arse. When I told him not to he did it again," she wrote, "I pushed him away, exercising my right to tell a man to stop touching my body without my permission, so he took a swing at me and punched me in the face."

The Leeds University student wrote that she was "not normally one for over sharing" on social media. "Carnival is supposed to be about community and good vibes. I wanted to have a good time but instead I spent 9 hours in A&E because of this coward," she wrote, "I'm so pissed off that this man thought it was OK to hit me because I said no to him."

Brandon further elaborated her stand on random assaults on women. She wrote that many might think it would be "safer to just ignore it" during such incidents. "But I can honestly say I will always stand up to someone who thinks they can get away with this behaviour," she wrote. She said that she would "take a punch again" from anyone who thought it was OK to treat women in such a manner.

Brandon's bruised image apparently inspired several other women to tell their real life experiences of sexual abuse at the carnival. Hannah Dart, a Facebook user, wrote that she had come across another woman who suffered sexual abuse at the carnival. The woman was apparently threatened with a "broken bottle held up to her face" as she protested when her friend was groped. "Keep standing up for yourself, you did an amazing job," she told Brandon.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au