Two Japanese tourists were apparently gang-raped in Agra, India after being held by three captives, one of them who spoke fluent Japanese. According to the Times of India, the two women were lured to a hotel and slipped sedatives in their drinks and then held for three days.
Taj Mahal in Agra, India
While there is crime in India, I am shocked by this story as it’s unusual to hear of such a violent crime against tourists. Generally, a traveler has to watch out for an opportunistic thief snatching their bag, robbing their hotel room or grabbing cash or jewelry while the victim is momentarily distracted. Rape is either uncommon or under-reported as I’ve never heard of this happening in India (not that it hasn’t, it may just stay under the radar).
Having heard this story, it reminded me that there are things a woman can do to help protect herself.
1. Whenever possible, share taxi rides with another person. If you are on your own, carry a cell phone (even if it doesn’t work) and make a call so that the driver believes that someone local knows your whereabouts.
2. Never follow a man to a private location (such as his home or a hotel) or allow him into your room. I don’t even allow room service into my room when I’m alone and I leave the door open when a repair person has to come in to fix something (the air conditioning or TV, for instance).
3. Outside of a restaurant or bar, don’t ever drink something that you haven’t poured yourself or watched being poured. And then, don’t let it out of your sight.
4. Whenever possible, lock your hotel room door with your own lock. Particularly in developing countries, a lock and key are provided to lock (rather than a key card or doorknob key). These can easily be replaced with your own. Combination locks are great for this since you don’t have a key to lose.
5. Follow your gut. If you feel like something is wrong, it probably is. Get yourself out of the situation as quickly as possible and don’t worry about etiquette.
Most travels are safe and worry-free, but taking precautions is paramount to keeping it that way.
Happy Travels!
(Don’t miss a post! Subscribe to this blog using the RSS feed or email alert at right!)
Rebekah En says
For every traveller out there of the female persuasion or male, I completely agree with point number 5 – always trust your gut. On a similar story, I read a blog warning about the dangers of Morocco from one traveller. She described almost being raped while in Essaouria after a few late night drinks. While it saddened me that her experience there was unpleasent and was harrassed by some gentleman she admitted to making two key mistakes. First, she drank a drink from the bar that she thought was her friend and secondly she felt that there was something not quite sound about the three gentlemen that were talking to herself and her travel companion. At the end of the written piece she warned all travellers to stay away from that particular bar, Morocco and condemed Moroccan men and their culture, reporting they underminded women’s value.
I believe every solo woman traveller would disagree with that and even if they were to have a bad experience would certainly not recommend against travel. The terrible action of a few should not condem all. I have been to the exact bar and place the blogger had been and had the complete opposite experience. While I had a few unpleasent ones in Naples, Istanbul and Cape Town, nethertheless I certainly had some fantastic memories as well!
So despite the heinous crime here in Agra, play it smart, respect the countries cultures and they will respect you in turn. That is the recipie for happy travels!
Oh and another handy tip I picked up in Turkey, do respect the dress wear that is customary for women, ie: cover shoulders and knees. Not because then you are making yourself unattractive to men or no longer ‘asking for it’, but it shows respect for the women of that culture who take pride in the way they dress. If men still harass you and even become physical, start a comotion by yelling loudly and watch the women run to your aid! If you respect them, they will respect you and give their men a good hiding on your behalf! A woman scorned with a heavy Turkish bag can discourage any man!