November 1st 2024.
Ellie Flynn is no stranger to putting herself in dangerous situations for the sake of her investigative journalism. She has gone undercover to expose landlords offering free rent for sex and has even allowed a stranger to follow her from a nightclub to a hotel room before confronting him. But nothing could have prepared her for the fear she felt while sitting on a sunlounger in Magaluf.
In her latest documentary, Magaluf Undercover - Predators & Parties, Ellie and her team flew to the infamous party island to expose the dark underbelly of the tourist hotspot. Posing as a drunk tourist, she and her team secretly filmed the actions of the men who approached her, capturing their predatory behavior on hidden cameras.
Despite expecting to encounter some sexual harassment, based on the alarming statistic of 48 reported rapes in the Magaluf area in 2023, Ellie was shocked by the extent of the harassment and how coordinated it felt. "We had a strong feeling that there was bad behavior there, but what shocked me the most was how organized it all seemed," she shared in an interview with Metro. "I have never been as scared as I was on that beach."
Ellie pretended to be drunk and alone, and she soon discovered that the men who approached her were often working in groups. In one instance, a man cornered her and asked if she wanted to kiss, but when she declined, he went to speak to another man, saying, "She's completely wasted. Let's go for it!" The second man then approached her, and when she tried to walk away, he followed her.
"It was the feeling of being outnumbered that upset me the most," Ellie explained. But it wasn't just the number of approaches that was alarming, it was the relentless and desperate nature of the harassment. "It was like an endless conveyor belt of unwanted advances. Even when I actively moved away, they kept trying to come into my personal space and touch me. It was non-stop," she recalled. This harassment only intensified at closing time when the partygoers spilled out onto the streets and beaches.
After four consecutive nights of filming, Ellie felt emotionally drained and at her limit. While the undercover work had naturally come to an end, she's not sure if she could have continued even if it hadn't. On her final evening, she was emotionally manipulated by a man who repeatedly asked if she was okay and offered his help before eventually placing his hands on her body.
"He lulled me into a sense of security, and I felt quite upset afterwards as I was questioning if I should have spotted the signs earlier," Ellie shared. "And I was a sober journalist, literally there to investigate that exact thing, and I still felt confused. How are women supposed to navigate this kind of behavior while just trying to enjoy a night out?"
Ellie also wants to make it clear that this is not just an issue in Magaluf, but on party holidays as a whole. In fact, an independent survey conducted for her documentary revealed disturbing levels of predatory behavior and sexual abuse, primarily towards women, on party holidays.
The survey, which involved over 500 men and women aged 18 to 35, uncovered some alarming statistics. Nearly a quarter of the respondents reported experiencing sexual assault, with almost 1 in 10 women reporting a non-consensual sexual act, including rape. Over 35% of women reported unwanted sexual touching, while 1 in 5 men admitted to touching a stranger without their consent. Additionally, more than 30% of men admitted to kissing someone without their consent while on holiday, and nearly a quarter of men believed that someone dancing or standing alone indicated they were looking for a sexual partner. Lastly, 33% of women reported being followed while on holiday.
These findings highlight the disturbing reality of predatory behavior on party holidays and the urgent need for action to address this issue. Ellie's documentary serves as a wakeup call and a call to action for everyone to be more aware and to stand up against this kind of behavior. As Ellie herself puts it, "It's time for a change."
Ellie Flynn, an investigative journalist known for her daring and risky work, recently delved into the dark side of party holidays. She has faced many dangerous situations in the past, but nothing could have prepared her for the fear she felt while sitting on a sunlounger in Magaluf. In her line of work, she has gone undercover to meet with landlords offering free rent for sex and even allowed a stranger to follow her from a nightclub to a hotel room before confronting him. However, it was her latest documentary, "Magaluf Undercover - Predators & Parties," that left her feeling the most vulnerable.
Together with her team, Ellie flew to the Spanish party island to expose the predatory underbelly of the popular tourist destination that attracts many British holiday-goers. Posing as a drunk individual, she secretly filmed the actions of men who approached her, all captured on hidden cameras. While she was expecting to encounter some sexual harassment, the reality was much worse than she could have ever imagined. Shockingly, there were 48 reported cases of rape in the Magaluf area in 2023, which gave Ellie and her team a strong indication that there was rampant bad behavior happening in this party hotspot.
"We had a strong feeling there was a problem, but what shocked me the most was how organized and coordinated it all felt," Ellie shared with Metro. "I have never been as scared as I was on that beach." In order to gather footage for their documentary, Ellie pretended to be drunk and alone, and she quickly realized that many of the men who approached her were working in groups. In one instance, a man cornered her and asked if she wanted to kiss him. When Ellie declined, he went to speak to another man and said, "She's completely wasted. Let's go for it!" The second man then approached Ellie, and when she tried to walk away, he followed her.
"It was an endless conveyor belt of relentless, desperate harassment," Ellie explained. "They kept trying to invade my personal space and touch me, even when I was actively trying to move away. It was non-stop." This behavior only worsened as the nightclubs closed, and the party-goers spilled out onto the popular Punta Ballena strip and the nearby beach.
After four consecutive nights of filming, Ellie reached her limit. The undercover work had come to an end, but even if it had continued, she doesn't think she would have been able to handle it emotionally. She was drained and exhausted after being "gaslit" on her final evening. Even three months later, the thought of that night still terrifies her.
The incident began with a man repeatedly asking Ellie if she was okay and offering his help. He even inquired about her friends, leading Ellie to believe that he genuinely cared about her well-being. For this reason, she let the situation play out, not wanting to signal for backup from her team. But as time passed, the man's actions became more aggressive, and he even began to touch her body without her consent.
"He lulled me into a sense of security, and I felt quite upset afterwards as I questioned if I should have noticed the warning signs earlier," Ellie said. "I was a sober journalist, literally there to investigate this exact thing, and I still felt confused. How are women supposed to navigate this while simply trying to enjoy a night out?"
Ellie also stressed that this issue is not exclusive to Magaluf but is a problem on party holidays as a whole. As part of her documentary, an independent survey was conducted with over 500 men and women aged 18 to 35, revealing disturbing levels of predatory behavior and sexual abuse, primarily towards women.
The results of the survey were shocking, with almost a quarter of the respondents reporting experiencing sexual assault, and nearly 10% of women stating they had been subjected to a non-consensual sex act, including rape. Additionally, almost 35% of women reported unwanted sexual touching while on a party holiday, and 1 in 5 men admitted to touching a stranger in an intimate area without their consent. More than 30% of men also confessed to kissing someone without their consent during a night out on holiday, and almost a quarter of men believed that someone dancing or standing alone meant they were looking for a sexual partner. Furthermore, 33% of women reported being followed while on holiday.
The results of the survey, along with Ellie's own experiences, highlight the disturbing levels of predatory behavior and sexual abuse that exist on party holidays. It is not just a problem in Magaluf, but a widespread issue that needs to be addressed. Ellie's brave work has shed light on this dark side of party holidays and has sparked important conversations about how to make these destinations safer for everyone.
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