A woman was furious after hearing an elderly passenger say, “No wonder they get raped,” as she passed her on the train.
Daniella Rakhdoune, 21, from Rustington, West Sussex, boarded the train to Brighton last weekend to meet a friend.
For her night out, the drama student wore a white mini skirt and an off-the-shoulder leopard print crop top.
Daniella says that as she sat down on the train, a pensioner – she estimates she was between 70 and 80 years old – looked at her outfit and said to her husband: ‘No wonder they get raped.’
The student explained: ‘I sat there for two minutes wondering if it was aimed at me. The train was silent and I thought it must be aimed at me. I felt horrible and disgusted.
Pictured: Daniella Rakhdoune, 21, from Rustington, West Sussex, seen boarding the train from Littlehampton to Brighton last weekend
“You can’t understand how someone’s mind works like that, especially a woman’s. I wondered for a moment if I should have dressed differently and covered up.”
After a few minutes had passed, Daniella decided to confront the older woman and she secretly filmed the conversation.
In the clip, Daniella opens the conversation with: ‘When you said, “It’s no wonder they get raped,” I hope you weren’t talking about me.’
The passenger replied, ‘You girls walk around with very little clothing on and look beautiful.
“These men look at you and want to be with you.”
Daniella then stressed that she should be able to wear whatever she wants – but the older woman said: ‘You’re not taking care of yourself and covering yourself up a little bit. That’s what concerns me.’
The student then said, “Well, I think the concern is, the man if they feel like they have to rape someone. It has nothing to do with me.”
“Well, not all men are like that,” the woman said. “They don’t think like us. You just have to be very careful.”
Daniella (pictured) said of the woman’s comment: ‘I wondered for a moment if I should have dressed differently and covered myself up’
Pictured: The leopard print crop top and white skirt Daniella wore during her night out in Brighton on Saturday
Daniella ends the conversation by saying, “I guess it’s your generation, right?”
The student – who later got into another compartment – continued: ‘As soon as she said it, I grabbed my phone, I thought I wasn’t the only one who heard this. She wasn’t ashamed of it. She stood her ground.
‘She said that people like me have to cover up to protect ourselves and that it worries her when there are rapists walking around.
“What’s concerning is the rapists, not how I dress. She said not all men have that mentality. It felt like she was saying if something happened to me, I deserved it.
‘Her husband didn’t say a word. I sat there for a while but then I got out of the carriage. I was a little shy after that.
“I was worried about what I was wearing. I didn’t want people to think I was trying to get attention. I talked to my sister and she said I shouldn’t give this woman the power to ruin my night.”
After a few minutes had passed, Daniella (pictured) decided to confront the older woman and secretly filmed the exchange
Daniella (pictured) ended the conversation with the retiree by saying: ‘I guess it’s your generation, huh?’
After Daniella posted the video on TikTok, she received a lot of support from her viewers.
One of them said, ‘You’re such a brave young lady. You’re articulate and strong and you’ve handled this so well.’
Another added: ‘That was really brave of you. It’s really encouraging to see you confront her like that at that moment. I know I couldn’t have done that myself.’
Daniella said: ‘People in the comments said I should have said this or that and some said I was too calm, but I was in shock and I didn’t think reacting like that would solve anything.
“I can’t put into words how unacceptable it is. The blame should never be on the victim. I should never go out wearing something I don’t want to wear. I never will.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, Women’s Aid offers free, anonymous support via email or live chat.