Watch out for this kind of robbery, people. Yesterday I got robbed on the bus again. It’s getting ridiculous. While the thieves laughed and bragged about it, I got off cursing half the world, remembering that the first time this happened was a long time ago and nothing has changed since.

I was about eleven, coming back from PE class, and I didn’t even notice I had been robbed. I didn’t tell anyone either. I guess it’s like this for everyone, right? It must be the ritual into adult life. So I started worrying before leaving home, always thinking about what to bring and what to hide, but the thieves already knew me. I changed my schedule and walked some stretches, and it never took long for them to get me again. Damn, it was a nightmare. They robbed me almost every day, sometimes more than once a day. Was it like that for you too?

Sadly, I got used to it. Years of learning tricks and giving up on some things. But yesterday was bad. I was alert. I went to the front of the bus and put my backpack on my chest, and when I noticed it was already too late. There was a guy behind me, a kid, and when I turned around I saw he was armed, and once again I didn’t know how to react. He rubbed himself against me and still asked:

“You came all the way here because you like it, right? Slut!”

And once again, they stole my freedom.

IDontDeserveToBeRaped

I posted this on Facebook on April 4, 2014. A week before, Ipea, a government research institute, had published a survey saying 65% of Brazilians agreed that women who wear clothes that show their body deserve to be attacked. The journalist Nana Queiroz started a campaign and lots of people posted photos holding a sign that said “I don’t deserve to be raped”. That same day Ipea admitted it had swapped two charts, and the real number was 26%. Which is still one in four people.