Re: Fear of being raped
Sometimes, I think we here at the Band forget that we are seen globally. The issues that face people in other countries are just as important and need to be seen just as much. Today, we hear from a woman in India:
I have had many bad experiences but one that lingers on in my life is the fear of being raped. I’m traveling alone in India since July 2019 until today, 19 February 2021. I left my parents and siblings because they were abusive towards me. I figured out they are narcissistic and they will continue to abuse me. It was hard to travel alone. I was removed from some hotels in New Delhi and Jaipur where my booking was cancelled. I kept talking to foreign travelers. Then, I moved to Rishikesh. I was removed from one of the hotels where I was abused by a woman staying in the same place as me. I had to change several accommodations in Rishikesh. I felt it was not the right place for me so I moved to Chandigarh. It’s a few days since I moved to Chandigarh. I’m living in the cheapest accommodation that I could find here. I’m struggling financially at the moment. As I arrived here by taxi, I went to check an accommodation in a house. Initially, the woman I met appeared to be nice but she and her daughter harassed me. They demanded a lot of money so I gave them whatever money I could give to them. However, they said it’s an accommodation for students and the same rules would apply to me. When I was paying money to my taxi driver, they accused me that I was with a boy and boys are not allowed here. After taking the money and abusing me, they said police has not allowed you to stay here. It was late in the evening. Luckily, I found a place to stay but here, I noticed men standing in a group and hysterically laughing when I’m shopping in the market. I notice men giving me an evil look. A man going on his bike was staring at me sexually. Then, I saw a man masturbating on the side of the street. I feel scared of being raped.
I have included some links, you are free to scroll past them.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-rape-factbox/statistics-on-rape-in-india-and-some-well-known-cases-idUSKBN1YA0UV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_in_India