It should be no secret sexual harassment occurs at gyms while people are trying to work out.
But some refuse to believe these events happen.
One female fitness instructor, who identifies as "Fern" on TikTok, decided to put the doubts to rest by providing proof of her own experiences with sexual harassment.
She recorded a video while she was lifting weights. Her entire body and the machine she was using were visible.
You can watch the video here:
WARNING: nonconsensual touching
@fernvillaceran Visit TikTok to discover videos!
While squatting, a man put his hand on her butt as he walked by.
Another man passed through the camera's view surrounding the incident but did nothing to help.
Fern posted the video to TikTok, where it quickly went viral.
Though the video garnered a great deal of attention, viewers were divided in their interpretations of the video.
Some were supportive and angry for Fern and what had happened to her.
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
Others—mostly men—claimed the incident was staged for views.
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
A few pointed out these doubts were an act of victim-blaming and only managed to perpetuate the problem.
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
Fern posted a follow-up video specifically to address the concerns raised.
She assured viewers the video was not staged. On the contrary, Fern stated the man, who was employed by the gym, had been touching her repeatedly when she lifted weights.
She previously complained to the gym's management, who did nothing about the employee's behavior, so she decided to record videos of her working out to obtain evidence.
It unfortunately did not take long for her to acquire the video she needed.
You can watch her response video here:
@fernvillaceran Visit TikTok to discover videos!
Though Fern's previous complaints to the gym gave no results, her video evidence and the fact it went viral gave her the results she needed.
The gym issued a statement, saying the employee had been fired for not following gym protocol.
They stated:
"The Management wants to inform all gym members that [man's name redacted], who was working as a Gym Instructor at [gym's name redacted], has been terminated on June 06, 2021. It has been found out that Mr. [man's name redacted] violated the rules of the Management."
@fernvillaceran/TikTok
Though the gym really should have believed the victim from the beginning, it's appreciated Fern was able to get the results she needed as a result of her video.
But it really shouldn't take a video going viral for a victim to be heard.
@jimmyfallon/Instagram