美國大學生披露在印度遭遇性騷擾

Michaela Cross, an American student at the University of Chicago, has written a powerful account of her study abroad trip to India last year, during which she says she experienced relentless sexual harassment, groping and worse.

Upon her return, she says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is now on a mental leave of absence from the school after a public breakdown in the spring.

Cross, a fair-skinned, red-haired South Asian studies major, titled her story "India: The Story You Never Wanted to Hear." She posted her account on CNN iReport under the username RoseChasm.

Her story has struck a chord around the world, racking up about 350,000 page views as of Tuesday morning. It quickly found its way to India, where many readers sympathized with the story and men felt compelled to apologize for the experience she endured. Others called for greater perspective and warned against making generalizations about India or its people.

India's deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi happened a few days after Cross left India in December, and she said that helped others understand what she and her classmates went through. The country has continued to see several high-profile cases of rape and sexual violence cases since then, and the government has introduced tougher laws and punishment for sexual crimes.

Keeping chivalry alive in India: Men respond to rape crisis

On her return, Cross struggled to find a way to talk about a cultural experience that was both beautiful and traumatizing, she said in her essay.

She writes:

"Do I tell them about our first night in the city of Pune, when we danced in the Ganesha festival, and leave it at that? Or do I go on and tell them how the festival actually stopped when the American women started dancing, so that we looked around to see a circle of men filming our every move?

"Do I tell them about bargaining at the bazaar for beautiful saris costing a few dollars a piece, and not mention the men who stood watching us, who would push by us, clawing at our breasts and groins?

"When people compliment me on my Indian sandals, do I talk about the man who stalked me for 45 minutes after I purchased them, until I yelled in his face in a busy crowd?"

Later, she writes: "For three months I lived this way, in a traveler's heaven and a woman's hell. I was stalked, groped, masturbated at; and yet I had adventures beyond my imagination. I hoped that my nightmare would end at the tarmac, but that was just the beginning."

A university spokesman confirmed Cross is a student at the school and would not comment on her mental leave. He said the school is committed to students' safety at home and abroad.

Cross said she didn't say anything to the professors on the trip until things reached "a boiling point" -- what she called two rape attempts in 48 hours.

Should solo female travelers avoid India?

Dipesh Chakrabarty, a University of Chicago professor who was in India for the first three weeks of the session, told CNN that he was unaware of Cross' situation. He noted, though, that the university tries to prepare students for what they might encounter while abroad. The Civilizations Abroad in India program was based in the city of Pune, but the students traveled to other areas during the semester.

"Both faculty and staff in Chicago and our local Indian staff counsel students before and during the trip about precautions they need to take in a place like India," Chakrabarty said in an e-mail. "Ensuring student safety and well-being is the top priority of both the College and staff and faculty associated with the program."

The university provided this statement to CNN:

"Nothing is more important to us at the University of Chicago than caring for the safety and well-being of our students, here in Chicago and wherever they go around the world in the course of their studies. The University offers extensive support and advice to students before, during and after their trips abroad, and we are constantly assessing and updating that preparation in light of events and our students' experiences. We also place extremely high value on the knowledge our students seek by traveling and studying other civilizations and cultures, and we are committed to ensuring they can do so in safety while enriching their intellectual lives."

Her story sparked a wave of reaction online, with scores of Indians responding, many with sympathy to her plight and pointing out that Indian women also experience high levels of harassment and abuse.

Arvind Rao, a media professional in Mumbai, was moved to post this comment on her story: "It thoroughly disgusts me to be known as an Indian male ... An apology is extremely meager for all the trauma you've gone through." He expressed hope that politicians would "wake up and implement stricter laws against crime and sexual harassment on women."

"Every time my girlfriend goes out alone, I pray that she comes back home safely," wrote a commenter using the name Jajabar. "Being an Indian male, I apologize."

Others, however, observed that sexual harassment was by no means confined to India, and Indian commenter Sam1967 warned against condemning his home country when so many others failed to protect the women living within their borders.

"I accept what happened was definitely an embarrassment and a cause of trauma for her that might haunt her for the rest of her life. But this has happened in many other countries or places and therefore it may not be the right thing to single out India."

'She could have been me': Action urged after Delhi gang rape

Another woman who said she was on the same University of Chicago sponsored trip to India, posted a response on CNN iReport calling on people to resist stereotyping Indian men and recognize that sexual assault happens all over the world.

The student, Katherine Stewart, said she dealt with her own share of harassment on the trip, but "in my experiences in India, I have met a solid handful of warm and honest Indian men -- men who are also college students, men who also love the thrill of riding on a motorcycle in the busy streets, men who defended me at necessary times, and men who took the time to get to know me and my culture. And that should not at all be surprising."

Stewart said she believed Cross "had every right to tell her story" and in no way wanted to lessen the significance of her experience. But Stewart, who is black, cautioned that "when we do not make the distinction that only some men of a population commit a crime, we develop a stereotype for an entire population. And when we develop a negative stereotype for a population, what arises? Racism."

One thing is certain: Cross sparked a huge discussion with a story that she thought no one wanted to hear. She said she is thankful for her experiences in India, and wants to see more international exposure about what women travelers and residents endure.

"Truth is a gift, a burden, and a responsibility. And I mean to share it," she writes. "This is the story you don't want to hear when you ask me about India. But this is the story you need."據美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）8月20日報道，美國芝加哥大學學生米夏埃拉·克羅斯日前撰文講述了在印度期間再三經歷性騷擾，回國後被診斷爲創傷後緊張症，精神崩潰，不得不休學的經歷。

白膚紅髮的克羅斯主修南亞研究，去年參加芝加哥大學文化體驗項目前往印度。此次活動讓她既感受到印度的美麗，也備受心靈創傷。她寫道：“在這個旅行者的天堂，女人的地獄，我生活了3個月。在此期間，有人跟蹤我，觸摸我，還有人衝我手淫，還有過超出我想象的冒險經歷。”

她和同學在集市討價還價時，周圍男人盯着她看，擠來擠去，抓她們的乳房。她買了一雙涼鞋後，一個男人跟蹤了她45分鐘，直到她當衆衝他大喊。她曾在48小時內遭遇兩次強姦企圖。

她的故事引起全世界的共鳴，網民反應強烈。截至20日早晨，網頁瀏覽量已約有35萬次。許多印度人表示同情她的處境，稱許多印度女性也頻繁經歷騷擾和虐待。他們認爲，那些男人必須爲她的經歷道歉。另一些人則呼籲更全面地看問題。

孟買媒體人阿爾溫德·拉奧評論道：“作爲印度男人，此事令我作嘔，就你經歷的精神創傷來說，道歉微不足道。”他希望政客們“清醒過來，實施更嚴格的法律，制裁對女性的性犯罪與性騷擾。”

網民Jajabar說，每次女朋友單獨外出，他都要祈禱，希望她能安全回家。他以印度男人的身份表示道歉。

也有人指出性騷擾不只侷限於印度。印度評論家山姆早在1967年就告誡人們，不要只譴責他的祖國，因爲其他許多國家也沒能保護境內的女性。他承認克羅斯身上發生的事情將影響她的一生，但是他認爲不應該只把印度提出來批評。

同行學生凱瑟琳·斯圖爾特表示，她曾受到過騷擾，也遇到過很多熱情而誠實的印度大學生。他們在她需要的時候幫助她，也花時間瞭解她和她的文化。身爲黑人的她認爲克羅斯有權講述自己的故事，但是要區分清楚：一個國家只有部分男人犯罪，否則會產生成見，最終造成種族歧視。

芝加哥大學發言人確認克羅斯是該校學生，但是沒有對她因精神疾病休假髮表評論。他表示，該校一直致力於保護學生在國內外的安全。

去年12月，在克羅斯離開印度後幾天，印度新德里發生輪姦23歲女子致其死亡的惡性案件，此後，印度又發生多起性暴力案件，震驚印度和世界。