Rape in Damansara

It makes you wonder what goes on in the minds of these men. Those who rob, AND rape. So many thoughts of disgust and contempt and anger and paranoia running through my mind - no way to put it all down.

Headline in The Sun this morning, and small article in The Star : Robber rapes victim for not giving enough cash - where a 24-year old stewardess (young mother) is robbed in a car park of a shopping complex in Damansara (the place is not named, everyone knows why), and then forced to drive to a nearby park to be raped in the backseat.

What is this world coming to?

What exactly did that man think of when he decided to rape the young mother? What, in the first place, compelled him to wait in the car park for a victim? Why did he think that robbing is the solution to his problems?

And that poor lady, when she returns to her husband. The horrible thoughts running through her ravaged mind, but the biggest question is the one that every woman is scared of - will her husband be there to support her through the ordeal?

It's sickening to see how the action of one criminal can affect the lives of otherwise normal people.

Meanwhile, I'll maintain my high level of paranoia - parking near escalators / lifts at shopping malls (although there's plenty of parking space elsewhere), constantly jerking my handbag tightly whenever I hear a car / motorbike pass me on the street, locking my car doors as soon as I get into it, looking into the rear view mirror at nights to ensure no one's following me home, getting someone to follow me to the toilets in shopping complexes, not getting into lifts at apartments if there's a bunch of men in it (or even, a doubtful-looking man), and always always watching my back.

Men can't blame women for being paranoid. All men have to worry about is car-hijacking and robbery. No, I don't mean for that to sound like that's all men have to worry about. But, imagine (if it's possible) what it's like to be a woman, afraid of every single darn thing that happens out of our control and results in havoc in our daily lives.

It's sad what this world has come to. I dread, really dread to know what the world would be like for our children.