Reader warning: this post contains detail of sexual assault and rape which may be confronting or triggering.
Mayor of Albury, New South Wales Kevin Mack has been criticised for statements made following the alleged rape at knifepoint of a 17-year-old girl in Albury on Tuesday night.
According to the ABC, a 17-year-old girl told authorities she was raped at knife point in bushes at the Dean Street footbridge—in Albury at about 6:20 pm this Tuesday—on her way home from work.
The ABC reports Mayor Kevin Mack encouraged women not to walk alone at night as a safety precaution, saying:
“I think it’s really a tragedy, and I think the area it has occurred in is a popular walking area for walkers, runners and cyclists and I think 6.30 at night, it’s not OK…I always have encouraged women not to walk alone, to have someone with them at all times, because that in itself is an invitation for someone to take advantage of you. It’s a salient reminder to us all not to take what we have for granted, and to make sure we have appropriate safety in place.”
Best summarising the responses to Mack’s statement on Twitter is, perhaps, this. A Change.org petition campaigning for Mack to retract and apologise for his statements has already emerged.
When Albury’s mayor tells women to “never walk alone after dark” instead of, I don’t know, telling men not to rape. pic.twitter.com/s1JRRO311E
— Broede Carmody (@BroedeCarmody) April 30, 2015
NSW police have released computer-generated images of the three men during Tuesday’s attack, and are urging anyone who can identify or who have seen the alleged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Walking alone at night ‘invites someone to take advantage of you’: Gang rape warning http://t.co/LGM1OrtzvL pic.twitter.com/XWqC1hKc32
— The Age (@theage) April 30, 2015
via ABC.
Lead image by Daniel Kalisz via Getty.
Violence against women is never acceptable. If you or someone you know is experiencing physical or sexual abuse, calls can be made 24 hours a day on 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) to the National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line, or to Lifeline on 131 114.
