A Queensland woman has expressed her frustration at having her afro constantly touched by strangers.
Connie Durant took to Facebook to describe the night she was ‘violated’ in a Byron Bay club after a stranger ‘petted’ the back of her head while she was on her way to the bathroom.
‘Unfortunately on a recent night out in Byron Bay a scenario arose where I was made to feel uncomfortable about the way I look,’ Ms Durant wrote on Wednesday.
Connie Durant took to Facebook to describe the night she was ‘violated’ in a Byron Bay club after a stranger ‘petted’ the back of her head
A Queensland woman has expressed her frustration at having her afro constantly touched by strangers
‘I have always understood I looked different to most Australians. I have an Afro, which I sometimes braid but is often worn naturally.’
Ms Durant explained people almost always comment on her appearance on nights out.
‘As the night draws on, people drink more, inhibitions disappear and people ask to touch my hair,’ she wrote.
On Saturday night Ms Durant was at a bar in Byron Bay with some friends when someone ‘touched her hair without consent.’
‘I was walking to the toilet, when I felt a petting sensation on the back of my head… someone was touching my hair! I turned around and there was one man standing behind me, smiling,’ she wrote on Facebook.
After telling the man not to touch her hair without consent, Ms Durant says his girlfriend approached her.
On Saturday night Ms Durant was a bar in Byron Bay with some friends when someone ‘touched her hair without consent’
‘She (girlfriend) was rude to me, made a racial slur and started indicating she wanted to harm me physically,’ Ms Durant wrote.
An argument proceeded and Ms Durant threw her drink at the girlfriend.
‘She (girlfriend) then punched me in my forehead. I decided to walk away, tell my friends what happened and then reach out to security, as I had quite a bad lump on my forehead from the assault,’ Ms Durant wrote.
After going to security, Ms Durant said she was thrown out of the bar for being ‘too hysterical’.
‘I was left alone on the street after being assaulted and experiencing discrimination. My friends were still inside the club and I was completely alone,’ she said.
Ms Durant said she was appalled by the way the incident was handled.
In ending her post she wrote: ‘I feel powerless and heartbroken that in this day and age, in this country, I am still having to fight for the same rights as anyone else. #DONTTOUCHMYHAIR.’