A young Maltese girl broke down on TikTok while recounting an incident where she was catcalled numerous times while out on a walk.

“I just came back from a walk and during this hour there were at least six cars that honked at me and around four guys who stared at me which made me feel extremely uncomfortable,” Maria Mallia explained.

@maria_christina_malliaPlease hear me out ##fyp ##fy ##foryoupage ##foryoupagemalta♬ original sound – 💞

Mallia then goes on to explain the manner in which she was walking – with wrist weights and in a fast manner.

“My entire body was moving and I know that this was the reason why I caught other people’s attention,” she continued.

While acknowledging that most men in society are respectful towards women, Mallia noted that women still continue to be harassed on the street, despite all the awareness raised around the subject.

“So we have to continue living like this? Feeling uncomfortable by simply leaving the house…I genuinely do not know what to do anymore,” she said before walking off camera visibly emotional.

According to figures by police, 140 reports of non-physical harassment have been filed since 2018. That is nearly six reports a month since 2018.

Lovin Malta recently launched a multi-article series shedding light on the issue of sexual harassment in Malta with anecdotal stories of real victims.

However, victims of cat-calling or derogatory comments often don’t feel their stories merit a police report. In fact, just 5% of around 1,000 respondents to Lovin Malta’s survey took action after being sexually harassed.

It comes as no surprise then that 85% of sexual assaults fly under the radar of police.

Last year, Maltese national swimmer Mya Azzopardi opened up on Instagram about the harassment she has faced after she featured in a controversial video rating women from 1-10.

Unfortunately for Mya, this wasn’t an isolated incident. Over the span of three months, the young swimmer has experienced multiple cases of sexual harassment.

Have you experienced anything similar? Let us know in the comments below