Last year a 25-year-old Belgian tourist was brutally sexually assaulted in Kings Cross. The perpetrator was never caught and the victim, too traumatised to stay, quickly returned home to Belgium. Upon hearing of the news, a Kings Cross resident decided gather the locals to send their support. This is the story of Kirsten’s return and how one community did everything they could to set things right.
It was a trip that Kirsten had been dreaming about. The Belgian tourist, who was 25 when she first landed in Australia, was planning to stay and travel through the country for a year.
“It had always been my dream to come to Australia. To experience the country and to meet the people,” Kirsten told SBS’s The Feed.
Her first stop was in Sydney’s Kings Cross. Jetlagged and wanting to explore the sights, the Belgian tourist decided to go for a walk through the Kings Cross neighbourhood.
“I was still quite jetlagged and it was still the evening. So I wanted to go outside and see the neighbourhood a bit. Then I guess I went a bit too far because I didn’t know where I was.”
But as she made her way down Victoria Street near Potts Point, Kirsten was suddenly attacked from behind. The man dragged her into a laneway and brutally raped her.
It was about 8.45pm. Kirsten had only been in the country for three days.
“I wasn’t really aware of anyone following me. Out of the blue, I was pushed into an alleyway. He came from behind, so I never saw who attacked me.
“They didn’t say a lot. They just said, ‘Shut up.’ I couldn’t react. I was paralysed,” she recalled, pausing momentarily. “Then he assaulted me.”
The perpetrator was never caught and the victim, too traumatised to stay in the country, quickly returned home to Belgium.
Kirsten said she knew it wasn’t her fault, but the attack left her feeling ashamed and violated.
‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept’
Upon hearing of the news, Kings Cross resident Claudia felt “a sense of responsibility” so she decided to take action.
“When I heard that about 200 metres from where I raised my family, that someone had been raped, I felt very heavy,” said Claudia. “I felt a sense of responsibility.”
Claudia gathered members of the local community to stand in the place where Kirsten was assaulted to make a stance against what happened.
“This isn’t ok; not in my neighbourhood,” she told SBS.
As they group stood in the laneway, Claudia took a photograph, which she intended to send to the victim.
Claudia gathered members of the local Kings Cross community to stand in the place where Kirsten was assaulted to make a stance against what happened. (SBS)
‘It was like the first positive experience I had with Australia’
When Kirsten saw the photo she was heartened that a local community took the time to care about a young Belgian tourist.
“I focussed on the people, I didn’t see the alley anymore. It was like the first positive experience I had with Australia.”
When Claudia invited Kirsten back to Australia, the Belgian didn’t take the decision lightly.
But Kirsten eventually accepted the invitation, and said she needed to visit the Kings Cross laneway again for closure.
“I’m a bit nervous, but it’s something I need to do to get some closure,” she told The Feed. "It feels like a reclaiming - like it’s not his space; it’s mine.
“I don’t want to be defined by what happened to me… It happens to a lot of women and that’s one reason I wanted to come back and do this. It’s to be able to say you can go on with your life.”
Catch Kirsten’s full story below.
Share
