Girl, 17, Faces Punishment for Fending Off Attacker

A 17-year-old girl who was attacked in Denmark may end up facing punishment herself. The teen says a man pushed her to the ground and started trying to undress her on Wednesday night in central Sønderborg when she used pepper spray on him and got away, the Local reports, citing Danish media. "It is illegal to possess and use pepper spray, so she will likely be charged for that," a local police spokesperson tells a TV station. The attacker escaped and has yet to be found, RT reports.

There's been an outcry, and locals are pointing out that Denmark is seeing an uptick in sexual harassment cases while local police are "stretched too thin" to keep things under control. As the Copenhagen Post reported earlier this month, women have been complaining that male refugees and asylum-seekers have been harassing or even groping them at nightclubs in Sønderborg, though in this case, it's not clear if the man was a refugee. Many commenters on the local TV station's article about the incident have offered to pay the girl's fine, which will probably be around $73. (Pepper spray abruptly ended a squabble between moviegoers.)