After a video went viral, showing a man masturbating in public on a train in France, many immediately condemned his act and started calling him out for being a pervert.
However, others pointed out that the woman, 37-year-old Natacha Bras, who took the video, should also face charges because she violated certain privacy laws.
There was a major debate over the incident for quite some time, and now, it looks like the group calling for justice for both sides seems to have a point.
The man could face charges of up to a year in jail and a $17,000 fine if he is identified and convicted.
On the other hand, the woman might have to pay a fine of up to $50,000 depending on the severity of the case, and courts are reportedly moving forward with pressing charges against her.
The official explanation provided by the woman was that she only started filming to defend and protect herself.
The man had approached her on multiple occasions and had even started to make his way towards her shortly before she started filming, so she took out her phone as a defense mechanism.
However, some online commenters have questioned this explanation, pointing out that she had no need to proceed with posting the video online and publicly shame the man.
Instead, some suggest, she should have taken the footage to authorities and kept it private, in order to keep her own legal front safe.
It is not clear if she will have to face the full extent of her charges at this point, and the story has been highly divisive in some circles.
Bras has been very open about her legal fight to change France’s privacy laws. She has even reached out to actress Patricia Arquette to push the issue to new grounds.
She wrote: “A man masturbated in the train next to me for 1:20. I filmed him, and today I can be sentenced to a heavier penalty than him. Do you think it is acceptable?”
After Arquette backed her fight, she replied with: “Thanks for your support. The police have opened an investigation against this man. I hope everything will be fine for me.”
It is doubtful that all of this will reach the intended conclusion.
