VICE: What should you do when someone is being sexually harassed in public?

By Vice

On Thursday, two women riding the TTC were allegedly accosted by a large, aggressive man who degraded them for what they were wearing over the course of several stops. One of them, Sarah Beamish, who described the incident on Facebook, said with the exception of one woman who asked if they were OK, no one stepped in.

Beamish identified the aggressor as David Zancai, which the TTC later confirmed to VICE. Nicknamed Zanta, he was a well-known fixture in downtown Toronto throughout the 2000s for performing shirtless push-ups while dressed in a Santa hat. VICE interviewed Zanta for a story last year, which also discusses his history of mental illness; while working construction in 2000, he fell 25 feet, leaving him with brain damage that friends say triggered schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

According to Beamish’s post, Zanta was allegedly “storming around” the subway Thursday, “yelling, doing pushups and roaring, and ranting about how ‘ladies’ and ‘girls’ need to ‘keep their knees together’ and ‘stop showing their monkey’ to men.” Beamish wrote that he zeroed in one girl who looked to be 17, and began shaming her for her choice of wardrobe. When he went to take a photo of her, she started crying, which is when Beamish intervened. As a result, she said Zanta started verbally attacking her. Beamish helped the girl move onto a different subway car, but said Zanta followed them, dragging around a large banner featuring the bare legs of two women all the while. He ended up getting off the train before they did.

Click here to read more from VICE

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today