Laura O'Neill, BBC NewsBBCThe women were filmed without

their knowledge

**Women in the north-west of England say they

feel unsafe after videos taken of them on nights out

without their knowledge have gained millions of views on

social media and attracted a slew of misogynistic

comments. **

Police say they are now actively trying to catch the

person making the videos.

They are asking anyone who has been filmed to come

forward.

Meg, 23, from Manchester, was a victim of the

disturbing social trend.

The make up artist and TikTok influencer said she was

filmed on a night out in Manchester. She said she did not

realise she had been filmed until she was sent a link to

the video.

"I didn't see him, I didn't know I was being

recorded, " she said.

"I can't believe I've been targeted in that way. He

looked at me and thought 'yeah, I'll video

them'. "

! [](https://https:/// //ichef. bbci. co. uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/F47B/production/_133178526_de27-89. jpg. webp) The

video of Meg was posted by a stranger on the same night

it was filmed

Meg said she was filmed while walking along Deansgate

with two women she did not know. She had noticed they

were being harassed by a group of men and offered to walk

with them.

"I just walked with them to get a taxi, so we were all

together, " she said.

"I just ended up having a little conversation with

them. "

The video of Meg was posted later that night by a

stranger.

It is one of dozens uploaded daily to platforms like

TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, usually on the same night

they are filmed.

The clips, which are often titled "Manchester

nightlife" or "Liverpool nightlife", have racked up

millions of views along with an abundance of misogynistic

comments.

"I have no words really other than it just made me

feel a bit sick, " she said.

"It's just not nice at all, and obviously not just in

a selfish way, but also towards the other women. A lot of

them will be really, really young girls, maybe even

underage girls not knowing that they were being

recorded.

"There's videos of girls like falling over and having

their underwear on show and stuff. And then being posted

online like that, something really needs to be done about

it. "

Meg (right) was filmed while walking along

Deansgate in Manchester with two other women

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says it is actively

working to catch the people making the videos.

Officers are being briefed on the situation ahead of

their shifts.

GMP said although it is not illegal to film people in

public, if the action is causing distress or harassment

it could be considered criminal.

PCs Ellison and Seu from GMP said it could be

difficult to spot people filming due to the technology

they use.

"A lot of people speak to their phone as they're

walking past, " PC Ellison said.

"We don't know if they're videoing or not as they're

going up the street. So it can be quite hard to get that

one. "

PC Seu said one woman had approached him about being

filmed.

"She said he had like little Ray Ban glasses and at

the corner was a camera that flashed red, " he

said.

! [](https://https:/// //ichef. bbci. co. uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/7CF3/production/_133178913_dji_0748. jpg. webp) The

clips attracted a slew of misogynistic comments

Ch Insp Stephen Wiggins of GMP's City

of Manchester central district urged anyone who has been

filmed or featured in the videos to come forward.

"We are very much up against it if we don't get that

intelligence, that information, coming from the actual

victims and communities themselves, " he said.

"We have intervened recently on a number of occasions

where we had males acting suspiciously in the city

centre.

"So our plea from our organisation is that people ring

us if they see any suspicious behaviour in the city

centre and will make sure that will be there. "

Chief

Inspector Stephen Wiggins said GMP was trying to

catch the people making the videos

Charlotte, from Trafford R*pe Crisis, is calling on

social media platforms to shut the accounts down.

She said the victim-blaming nature of the comments

made it harder for people who had experienced sexual

violence to come forward.

"It absolutely is a direct causal link to sexual

violence, " she said.

"These sorts of victim-blaming commentaries introduce

another level of shame.

"That becomes a barrier to women accessing the

support. "

TikTok and YouTube said they had removed a number of

videos and accounts relating to this content for

violating the guidelines.

A TikTok spokesperson said: "Misogyny is prohibited on

TikTok. Any content found to violate these guidelines

will be removed. "

For Meg, the day the accounts are shut down cannot

come soon enough.

"They shouldn't be allowed to be posted online without

consent.

"These videos are creating almost a danger of violence

towards women.

"The video that was took of me was posted on the same

night. So if I was still out that night and that video

was posted, that creates some sort of danger of violence

I believe. "

! [](https://https:/// //ichef. bbci. co. uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/11678/production/_105988217_line976. jpg. webp)

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