vitaminseastar
New
Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum but need some advice about an encounter I just had while diving. *warning* discusses sexual abuse
I got my Open Water Diver certification 10 years ago and haven't been diving since (due to location, lack of availability, etc). About a year ago, I moved to Thailand, and recently decided to do a refresher training.
The dive I went on was beautiful, off the coast of Krabi. The experience itself was the worst. The Dive Shop assured me that I would be put on a boat with other certified divers and would get a refresher of basic skills before going down. Instead, I was put on a boat with 2 others, one person who had never been diving, and his wife, who remained on the boat. Since I had not been diving for so long, and was reassured I would still get a good dive, I didn't complain too much as long as I could refresh my skills and get some good diving time in.
After the male dive instructor asked me to refresh my basic skills (mask clearing and regulator retrieval), which I did easily, he said that I would be going down with him and the other student, but that he would control my buoyancy. He also said that I could swim on my own (without him holding onto me) if I proved that I could do those two basic skills (mask clearing and regulator retrieval). He didn't end up letting me do that.
Instead, he forced me to hold his hand the entire time. At some point during the first dive, he grazed my breast. I thought it was just an accident. After the first dive with the beginner diver, he said that I could go on a deeper dive with him (to approximately 11m) if I wanted to. When the beginner diver asked if he could join, the instructor said no, because he didn't have the skills that I had. I thought nothing of it and was happy that I was allowed to go deeper. He weirdly continued to insist that he hold me, and either held my hand or shoulders, which felt weird because he could have just held my tank/BCD.
It was on the second dive when it got really obvious to me that something was wrong. Similarly, we initiated the dive with the other beginner diver, but after about 20-25 minutes maybe, we resurfaced. Then, he asked again if I wanted to go for maybe 10 more minutes of deeper diving. This time, he brought me far from the boat into a more secluded area. He started holding on to me weird, where at times he would hold onto both of my shoulders. He then put his hand on my crotch and began stroking it, with his other hand between my legs. I at first naively though he was trying to prevent me from stepping on the coral on the ocean floor. But then he brought me to a secluded area, where there were no coral, and we weren't moving, while he continued to stroke my crotch. Every few seconds he would signal the OK signal to me, and I had no choice but to signal OK back. When I realized what was happening, I signaled that I wanted to go up. He signaled... lets swim for a bit, then go back up. There was nothing I could do. He held onto me. I just tried remaining calm, and trying not to do anything rash that could get him to do something worse to me.
When we finally got back to the boat, he had the audacity to ask me to add him on Facebook or Instagram. Ugh. So disgusting.
I have no idea what to do but I want to make sure that this situation doesn't happen to anyone else. I am a foreigner living in Northern Thailand. I leave Krabi in a week. I know the instructors PADI certification # and name. I booked the dive with a well-rated dive shop. Any suggestions on course of action?
I am new to this forum but need some advice about an encounter I just had while diving. *warning* discusses sexual abuse
I got my Open Water Diver certification 10 years ago and haven't been diving since (due to location, lack of availability, etc). About a year ago, I moved to Thailand, and recently decided to do a refresher training.
The dive I went on was beautiful, off the coast of Krabi. The experience itself was the worst. The Dive Shop assured me that I would be put on a boat with other certified divers and would get a refresher of basic skills before going down. Instead, I was put on a boat with 2 others, one person who had never been diving, and his wife, who remained on the boat. Since I had not been diving for so long, and was reassured I would still get a good dive, I didn't complain too much as long as I could refresh my skills and get some good diving time in.
After the male dive instructor asked me to refresh my basic skills (mask clearing and regulator retrieval), which I did easily, he said that I would be going down with him and the other student, but that he would control my buoyancy. He also said that I could swim on my own (without him holding onto me) if I proved that I could do those two basic skills (mask clearing and regulator retrieval). He didn't end up letting me do that.
Instead, he forced me to hold his hand the entire time. At some point during the first dive, he grazed my breast. I thought it was just an accident. After the first dive with the beginner diver, he said that I could go on a deeper dive with him (to approximately 11m) if I wanted to. When the beginner diver asked if he could join, the instructor said no, because he didn't have the skills that I had. I thought nothing of it and was happy that I was allowed to go deeper. He weirdly continued to insist that he hold me, and either held my hand or shoulders, which felt weird because he could have just held my tank/BCD.
It was on the second dive when it got really obvious to me that something was wrong. Similarly, we initiated the dive with the other beginner diver, but after about 20-25 minutes maybe, we resurfaced. Then, he asked again if I wanted to go for maybe 10 more minutes of deeper diving. This time, he brought me far from the boat into a more secluded area. He started holding on to me weird, where at times he would hold onto both of my shoulders. He then put his hand on my crotch and began stroking it, with his other hand between my legs. I at first naively though he was trying to prevent me from stepping on the coral on the ocean floor. But then he brought me to a secluded area, where there were no coral, and we weren't moving, while he continued to stroke my crotch. Every few seconds he would signal the OK signal to me, and I had no choice but to signal OK back. When I realized what was happening, I signaled that I wanted to go up. He signaled... lets swim for a bit, then go back up. There was nothing I could do. He held onto me. I just tried remaining calm, and trying not to do anything rash that could get him to do something worse to me.
When we finally got back to the boat, he had the audacity to ask me to add him on Facebook or Instagram. Ugh. So disgusting.
I have no idea what to do but I want to make sure that this situation doesn't happen to anyone else. I am a foreigner living in Northern Thailand. I leave Krabi in a week. I know the instructors PADI certification # and name. I booked the dive with a well-rated dive shop. Any suggestions on course of action?
