SUNBATHING in my bikini on a public beach, I heard weird grunting noises that immediately made me feel unsettled.
It was a man, more than twice my age and with a massive beer belly, catcalling me. That was horrendous enough, but there was something about him that was even more vile.
While sunbathing on a public beach, The Sun’s Kate Kulniece was catcalled and flashed by a man twice her age Credit: Michael Leckie
A staggering 97 per cent of women aged 18-24 have experienced sexual harassment in a public space, charity UN Women UK found Credit: Getty
He was masturbating while looking at me in my swimwear.
Petrified and with no one else nearby, I quickly jumped into my denim shorts and grabbed my belongings.
As I hopped on my bike, the creep said something: “Thanks, babe.”
He had just ejaculated.
Disgusted and repulsed, I cycled away as fast as I could, tears pricking my eyes.
Unfortunately, I’m not alone in experiencing this type of frightening, unsolicited attention.
According to gender equality charity UN Women UK, a staggering 97 per cent of women aged 18-24 have experienced sexual harassment in a public space.
Just last month, released an image of a man who had allegedly been exposing himself and masturbating on an early morning commuter train to Bedford, while last year , 30, of no fixed address, was jailed for eight months for exposing himself to lone women on the .
Rebecca Goshawk, Director of Business Support at Solace , London’s largest domestic and sexual violence charity, says: “Indecent exposure is not a trivial offence. It is a form of sexual abuse that can cause lasting trauma, leaving women feeling unsafe, violated and fearful in public spaces.
“Many survivors do not report to the police due to a lack of confidence that they will be believed, taken seriously or because they are not aware that what happened to them is a .
“We need to ensure that police are trained to manage these reports in ways that not only bring about justice, but also reduce the risk of trauma.”
It certainly feels like there has been a spike in headlines about sickos flashing themselves in public to petrified women and, as a society, we ought to take this crime seriously.
It’s not in any way jovial – victims like myself find it intimidating, scary and repulsive.
I didn’t report the beach incident to the police, but looking back, I should have.
I’m sure I wasn’t that creep’s first victim and it makes me sick to think I probably wasn’t his last.
Unfortunately, many women find themselves in the same position as me and, while it may feel daunting, these crimes should be reported to the authorities.
That’s in no small part because Rape Crisis England & Wales found that one in four people who carry out indecent exposure go on to commit the crime again.
More concerning still, between five and 10 per cent of those who carry out indecent exposure, such as flashing, go on to commit a sexual offence involving physical contact, including sexual assault or rape.
This statistic is chilling to me because, when I was around 16, I was sexually assaulted.
I had snuck into a club in Riga, Latvia, with my friends and I remember a slim, balding man in his late forties approaching me.
As I walked past, he quickly lifted up my floral dress and grabbed at my privates.
Full of rage, I swore at him and pushed him away, but when I told my own friends what had happened, they didn’t seem that concerned.
Did they really think women were meant to tolerate this kind of male behaviour?
I don’t know if this sleazy man also started off by flashing.
Sarah’s killer, Wayne Couzens, 53, had a history of flashing Credit: PA
Matheus Preste was jailed for exposing himself to lone women on the London Underground Credit: British Transport Police
But this is exactly why we need to take indecent exposure seriously. As the statistics show, we don’t know where it could lead and I believe that if we can stop even one offender escalating, then speaking up matters.
In 2024, the Angiolini Inquiry, set up to investigate how a police officer was able to abduct, rape and murder 33-year-old , found that indecent exposure “may indicate a potential trajectory towards even more serious sexual and violent offending”.
Sarah’s killer, , 53, had a history of flashing and was found guilty of four counts of indecent exposure, which took place between January and February 2021, a month before he murdered her in south London.
On two separate occasions, he exposed himself while paying for food at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Swanley, Kent.
The police were given his number plate and description, but they did not speak to him about the incidents. He went on to kidnap, rape and murder Sarah just weeks later in March 2021.
But he wasn’t the only one whose crimes of indecent exposure escalated.
In 2017, George David, then 20, was jailed for seven years after admitting to rape, spying on women in toilets and kidnapping an 11-year-old schoolgirl.
The court heard that six days prior to the kidnapping, David had been caught on CCTV masturbating on the platform at Weston-super-Mare train station.
Between five and 10 per cent of those who carry out indecent exposure go on to commit a sexual offence involving physical contact Credit: Getty WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE FLASHED
Move to safety immediately: Trust your instincts. Quickly distance yourself from the offender and head toward a well-lit, public area with other people around.
Note key details: As soon as it is safe, write down everything you remember. Note the offender’s appearance, clothing, approximate age, and any vehicle registration plates or direction of travel.
Report it to the police: Call 999 if you are in immediate danger. Otherwise, report the incident via 101 or online. Indecent exposure is a serious crime, and your report could prevent escalation.
Report on public transport: If it happens on a train or the Underground, text the British Transport Police on 61016 or use the Railway Guardian app.
Seek dedicated support: You do not have to carry the emotional impact alone. Reach out to charities like Solace ( solacewomensaid.org ) or Rape Crisis ( rapecrisis.org.uk ) for free, confidential support and counseling.
Meanwhile, , 31, was known to lurk in the shadows and perform sexual acts on himself just metres from young students in Hull.
He went on to rape and murder student Libby Squire in 2019.
So there is a clear and deeply concerning pattern in which indecent exposure precedes more serious sexual assaults and violent crimes, including murder.
While not every case escalates, the statistics raise serious questions about how these early warning signs are handled.
In 2025, two female officers from Surrey Police hit the streets in sportswear to show how often women are harassed while running.
The results made for depressing reading.
“One of our officers was honked at within ten minutes, then another vehicle slowed down, beeping and making gestures just 30 seconds later.
“That’s how frequent it is,” Inspector John Vale reported.
“Someone slowing down, staring, shouting – even if it’s not always criminal – can have a huge impact on people’s everyday lives and stops women from doing something as simple as going for a run.
Pawel Relowicz, who killed Libby Squire, was known to lurk in the shadows and perform sexual acts on himself just metres from young students in Hull Credit: PA
“We have to ask: is that person going to escalate? Are they a sexual offender? We want to manage that risk early.”
As with rape, where five in six women and seven in eight men don’t report the crime, the true scale of flashing and indecent exposure is likely to be significantly higher than recorded figures suggest.
If the flashing incidents over the past few months have confirmed anything for Britain’s women and girls, it is that our streets are still not safe.
As someone who has been subjected to horrifying sexual assaults, I know the courage it takes to report these incidents to the authorities.
But if nothing changes and the police do not take these incidents more seriously, we will never be fully free and will spend our lives forever looking over our shoulders.
It has been more than a decade since that sickening incident on the beach, yet the vile image is ingrained in my memory forever – as is the feeling of how petrified I was.
Although therapy has helped me, reassuring me that none of the assaults were my fault, I struggle with what happened to me in the past.
Those horrors have made me scared of the darkness and even the slightest noises at night make me jump.
Before I started dating my boyfriend earlier this year, I also struggled with meaningful relationships and wondered if anyone would ever love and accept me the way I am.
That’s because, in my eyes, the assaults had left me ‘tarnished’ and somehow unworthy of love.
I’m not sure I even loved myself, as for many years I saw myself as nothing but a piece of meat.
So my worry is that if society still sees flashing as a ‘harmless’ crime, the consequences will be devastating – and too many women have already suffered.
- For help or support with any of the issues raised, you can contact Victim Support ( victimsupport.org.uk ) on 0808 168 9111 or Solace Women’s Aid ( solacewomensaid.org ) on 0808 802 5565 .
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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