A 21-year-old young woman was assaulted in Barreiras, Bahia (Brazil), on Thursday, October 29, around 5:30 a.m. while walking to the gym.
The aggressor, Cássio da Silva Santos, 27 years old, approached her from behind, "touched" her, and forced her to accompany him by pretending they were a couple until the "Villa de los Funcionarios" neighborhood, where he took her under a tree to carry out the assault.
Security cameras captured the exact moment of the harassment and how the victim was coerced with the threat of a weapon; after the attack, she was attended to by emergency services and transferred to the Hospital do Oeste
I was 17 when a group of five students turned my final year in secondary school into a nightmare.
It started with jokes about my appearance, but it quickly became something much worse.
They would slap my books out of my hands, pour food on my uniform, hide my shoes after sports and create fake social media accounts to post embarrassing pictures of me.
Their leader, Daniel, made sure everyone participated. Anyone who refused became his next target.
I reported them to two teachers, but nothing changed. One even told me to stop being sensitive and learn to stand up for myself.
Then, one Friday afternoon, things went too far.
As I was leaving school, the five of them cornered me behind the assembly hall. Daniel demanded that I kneel and apologize for reporting them.
I refused.
He slapped me so hard that I fell against a concrete bench. The others started recording while one of them kicked my schoolbag across the floor.
I sustained a serious injury and was taken to the hospital.
My mother arrived at the hospital still wearing her work uniform. When she saw my swollen face, she broke down in tears.
The following Monday, she went to the school with my medical report and demanded that the students be identified and disciplined.
But the principal's response was unbelievable.
He said, "These are children. We shouldn't destroy their future over a misunderstanding."
My mother placed the medical report on his desk and replied:
"Then what about my child's future? Who will take responsibility if the next attack kills him?"
The school eventually involved the police, and the students' parents were summoned.
But here's what made everything worse.
Daniel's father arrived at the police station and offered my mother money to withdraw the complaint.
She refused.
Months later, Daniel's family transferred him to another school.
I eventually graduated, but I never returned to school as the confident person I once was.