Jenice Armstrong: A rape inside a Philly Macy's bathroom is a shocking reminder of the dangers we face

Feb. 27—Laquisha S. Anthony remembers being at the Ross Department Store at Cedarbrook Plaza in Wyncote, Montgomery County, last October when a man followed her to her car then spouted vulgarities at her.

"Once I got into my car, I had a panic attack for an hour. My cousin had to come get me," recalled Anthony, a sex-abuse survivor and the founder of V.O.I.C.E., a victims support network which stands for Victory Over Inconceivable Cowardly Experiences. "When I heard about the Macy's incident, it really just reminded me of, where can you be safe? Where exactly is safety? ... The idea that you can't even go to a public restroom and be safe is terrifying."

Terrifying is an understatement.

A West Philly man will be charged with raping a woman in the Center City Macy's bathroom, police say"},

We won't soon forget the shocking report that a male assailant hid inside one of the stalls in a bathroom at the Center City Macy's store on Sunday for 20 minutes before sexually assaulting a woman. What happened to that female customer could have happened to anyone.

According to police, the 55-year-old had been shopping with her husband on a different floor when she left him and headed to the women's restroom. Already waiting inside one of the stalls, the assailant brandished kitchen skewers and threatened to kill her during the attack.

Big props to police for using surveillance video to quickly track down and arrest a suspect. Jaleel Uqdah faces charges including rape, aggravated assault, and robbery.

But I don't know when I'll be able to use that restroom or any public bathroom again without checking every single stall first. The bathroom at Macy's is a go-to spot for female pedestrians in Center City. It's relatively clean. It's easily accessible.

I'm glad that rape attracted the media attention it did. We hear so much about gun violence and not nearly enough about sexual assault. It is vastly underreported: Victims don't report it as much as they should. And the media doesn't share their stories nearly enough.

Female armed robbery victim: If it happened to me, it can happen to you. Keep your guard up, ladies. — Jenice Armstrong"},

We need to do better.

It's unfortunate because the underreporting gives people a false sense of safety. Last year, there were 821 rapes reported in Philadelphia. Citywide, police have reported 111 rapes so far this year through March 21.

That's a 20% decrease compared to the same span last year, but think about that: It still means at least twice a day in this city, a rapist is preying on someone.

Besides, those numbers don't reflect reality.

"Right now, we think it's not happening because we are still relatively contained because of COVID," said Monique Howard, executive director of WOAR-Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence, a rape crisis center. "But what that means is that the rapes are more silent, they are in homes, they're happening with the people that we are contained with."

Sunday's assault "has been one of the first times in a while that this is being thrown in our face," she said. "But it lets us know that we still need to be vigilant and that it is still happening."

The last highly publicized rape in the city took place nearly a year ago, when a 41-year-old woman had gotten off the Market-Frankford Line at 15th Street and was walking to work in LOVE Park when she was attacked early one morning. As with the Macy's case, police used surveillance video to track down and arrest suspect Quindell Campbell of Olney, who was charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, and related crimes. His trial is pending.

The survivor told a Fox 29 interviewer last month that she is still traumatized.

I feel for her.

I feel for the survivor of Sunday's sex assault at Macy's.

I also feel for the sexual-assault victims whose stories never get told.

Rape is heinous. When it happens, it scars the victim but also those who hear about it. It feels like just one more thing that makes you feel like you're not safe.

Not even in the restroom.

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