Journalist faces ‘sexual harassment’ on LinkedIn, ‘Let me do what I wish’

Journalist-author Nishtha Gautam has shared her frustration about ongoing harassment on LinkedIn despite her professional and personal privileges. She explained that the “sexual harassment” began innocently enough with a connection request, followed by polite messages.
However, this soon escalated into a series of inappropriate direct messages. Although she tried to ignore them, the situation worsened when the same man, named Tulsi Kumar, started leaving comments on her Instagram.
“I’ll be 39 in exactly 10 days. I’m a mother of two daughters—21 and 15. I have all the privileges that you can count—caste, class, religion, skin colour, education everything. My LinkedIn profile is for everyone to see and assess my professional standing,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “Yet, I’m utterly helpless and I don’t know anymore when this will stop. The screenshots are self explanatory.”
Nishtha expressed anger at the behaviour of men online and criticised those who claim “not all men” are like that.
““Not all men” tribe, sit down. Unless YOU wake up to such bullshit from random stranger women in your professional account’s inbox routinely, don’t even think of making your case,” she wrote.
She also voiced her frustration with LinkedIn’s lack of adequate reporting tools for harassment. According to her, digital safety measures are inadequate.
“Digital safety, my foot! It’s a disgusting world where women can be made to feel like shit even within the safety of their homes by stranger men,” she concluded.
Nishtha Gautam’s online community stood by her.
“Creeps like these, who shamelessly use ‘Tulsi’ in their names need to be deweeded the way they understand. Sorry you had to go through this, but yes, this is a violation of your privacy, and a crime – digital abuse… Report him to be caught & faced with a punishment he deserves,” wrote one LinkedIn user.
“Your openness in sharing this experience, while painful, also sheds light on a critical issue that far too many women face in digital spaces. The fact that this behavior persists despite all the social and professional progress we’ve made is maddening, and it’s understandable why you feel so frustrated and violated,” wrote another.