Sexual Assault A Local Rape Happened Last Night

[Lucycat]

Rory has just come home from the pub with the news that a girl was raped locally last night. I am shocked. This is a very small community here with an incredibly low crime rate. It just goes to show that it can and does happen everywhere.

My first thought is for the poor girl. What she must be going through right now. I assume that as this is local knowledge then it must have been reported, but not necessarily so of course. Rory said she was named, so it must be really tough for her to know she is being talked about. I actually feel guilty for sharing it here, but if she were ever to read this, I hope she would understand that this is written with compassion.

Secondly my thought is that we have a rapist roaming locally. I guess that is the same in most places. However, maybe that is where the smallness of the community might help. Just maybe somebody saw something or knows the rapist. Hopefully he will soon be locked up.

 

[Lucycat]

The town is crawling with Police today. I had to pass the crime scene on my way to work and it is cordoned off with Police tape, and Police guarding the site. I guess they are waiting for experts in forensics to arrive from the Big City.

My very unsympathetic colleague said she could not understand why the girl did not scream and attract attention -'after all there are lots of houses around'. Duh! My reply was short -' I don't know any details, but would you scream with a knife at your throat?'. That shut her up!

My boss' comment was even more blase - she said that the girl's life will have changed this weekend. That is very true - but boss has no concept of what those words mean.

I cannot stop thinking about this. My cosy, safe haven has been shattered. That sounds incredibly selfish, but when I think of how the girl is feeling or what she went through I find it overwhelming. I don't know her, but do so hope her friends and family are reaching out to her.

 

[rainbow1]

Its very hard when this happens in a small community. I'm not surprised you can't stop thinking about it. It would make me feel very unsettled and quite unsafe as well. I hope the person responsible is caught and brought to justice quickly.

 

[cherryblossom]

Honestly, I don't know how to react to the news of a rape happening in your local town (/ village?).

This is quite an emotive subject for me, because I was raped in a small town with low crime. I didn't report my rape, but I know that if I had it would have been a massive local story. It wasn't the thought of press reports that silenced me - it was his death threats, but even so, it was a small consideration, in the back of my mind.

Without saying, my heart goes out to her, and her family, but I also understand how shattering it is for you and the whole of the community - to realise that these sorts of crimes can happen anywhere, at any time.

It's not selfish to feel the way you do. It's realistic to be concerned, but equally, you can't wrap yourself in cotton wool, just as the rest of the community has to continue to take reasonable precautions, but still live your lives.

 

[chant2012]

This is heartbreaking...
I hope her family is supporting her through this.
Sending her my prayers.

 

[Lucycat]

I have been quite shocked and disappointed by online discussion about this particular incident. On social networks associated with the area, it has been discussed about who the girl is - her job etc. Why she was there, that 'women should know better than walk home alone in the dark', 'people take risks'.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of sympathy has been offered too, but so much of what I have read is from the dark ages. In fact this happened in a well lit area near houses, but that is irrelevent. Women should be safe to walk wherever they want when they want or need to. I do agree that the world is not a safe place - but it should be.

One colleague said she was going to phone the Police and find out if the guy had been caught because, she said, we need to know if we are safe again. Sadly even if he has been, there will be another one somewhere to take his place. I think she will only irritate the Police with such a call, who are never going to say 'you are all safe now!' They have a job to do, and that is catching the guy and ensuring the girl is supported appropriately.

 

[cherryblossom]

The world should be a safer place for everyone, but the sad fact is, that it's not. People are naive to think that once one rapist is caught - they are safe. It's just not the way things work.

Women can try to take precautions, but again it's never that simple. If we took too many precautions we'd never leave the house. Particularly in winter, how can women not walk around in the dark? The only person ever to blame is the perpetrator. No-one should care, what she did, what she wore, what she said, whether she 'should' have done something different. That's all just ludicrous.

People are scared, I get that, but seriously they just need to concentrate on looking after themselves, always, and leave the Police to do their job.

 

[Lucycat]

They have not got the guy - yet anyway. No DNA unfortunately. Even if they did, though, if it was a first offense it would not necessarily help at this stage.

People have moved on. There is new gossip in town. This dreadful crime has been shelved in people's brains. Amazing how quickly people - those not affected - forget. The victim won't.

 

[chant2012]

How saddening...