Hundreds retrace steps of alleged rape victim in Brisbane
More than 1000 people have come together in Brisbane to march in solidarity for a young woman allegedly raped on the side of a road.
Families and locals, both men and women showed their support in Brookfield on Sunday morning, retracing some of the steps the woman would have taken when the alleged attack happened.
More than 1000 people came together to march in solidarity. Nine
Their message was strong and simple: that everyone should feel safe in their suburb.
“We should be able to be free and go out and be safe and feel safe,” one woman told 9News.
“I think some of us are feeling angry, some are feeling really, really deeply saddened,” another woman said.
The 23-year-old alleged victim was walking towards the Brookfield Road bridge about 6.33am on Thursday when an unknown man stopped her and assaulted her, police claim.
Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham alleged the attacker, who was on his way to work, grabbed the woman from behind and forced her into some bushes on the side of the road.
The assault took place over “some time” before the alleged attacker drove to work, he said.
The woman managed to escape across a creek and call authorities.
The alleged attack, 32-year-old Jacob Dave Henry Hauraki, was arrested on Thursday afternoon.
The walk on Sunday was intended not just as a public show of support but also a personal outreach to the woman, with handwritten notes from strangers set to be delivered to the alleged victim and her family.
“We know that a walk isn’t going to change what’s happened but it brings us together and I think that most important thing is it starts conversations. We are talking to our partners, we are talking to our children, we are having conversations with our neighbours, I think that’s really important,” one woman said.
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