Moment a shocked woman confronts a pensioner who muttered: “No wonder they’re being raped” after she boarded a train for a night out in a miniskirt and crop top

By Lydia Hawken for Mailonline

10:25 July 30, 2024, updated 10:44 July 30, 2024

One woman became furious when she heard an elderly passenger walk past her on the train and say, “No wonder they are being raped.”

Daniella Rakhdoune, 21, from Rustington, West Sussex, boarded a train to Brighton last weekend to meet a friend.

For her evening outing, the acting student opted for a white miniskirt and a strapless leopard print crop top.

As she sat down on the train, Daniella said, a pensioner – she estimated she was between 70 and 80 years old – saw her outfit and said to her husband: “No wonder they’re being raped.”

The student explained: “I sat there for two minutes wondering if it was aimed at me. The train was quiet and I thought it must be aimed at me. I felt horrible and disgusted.”

“It’s hard to understand how someone would think like that, especially a woman. For a moment I wondered if I should have dressed differently and covered myself better.”

After a few minutes had passed, Daniella decided to confront the elderly lady and secretly filmed the exchange.

In the clip, Daniella opens the conversation with: “When you said, ‘It’s no wonder why they get raped,’ I hope you weren’t talking about me.”

The passenger then replied, “You girls walk around with very little clothing and look beautiful.”

“These men look at you and want to be with you.”

Daniella then stresses that she should be able to wear whatever she wants – but the older woman says: “You don’t take care of yourself and you don’t cover yourself up one bit. That worries me.”

The student then said, “Well, I think the concern is that the man feels like he should rape someone. That has nothing to do with me.”

“Well, not all men are like that,” the woman told her. “They don’t think like we do. You just have to be very careful.”

Daniella then ends the conversation by saying, “I guess that’s your generation, right?”

The student, who then moved to another carriage, continued: “When she said that, I immediately took out my phone. I thought, I can’t be the only one who heard that. She wasn’t embarrassed. She stuck to her opinion.”

“She said that people like me have to cover themselves to protect themselves and that she is worried if there are rapists out there.”

“What I’m worried about is the rapists, not my clothes.” She said not all men have that attitude. It felt like she was saying if something happened to me, I would deserve it.

“Her husband didn’t say a word. I sat there for a while, but then changed cars. I was a little embarrassed after that.

“I was worried about what I was wearing. I didn’t want people to think I was looking for attention. I talked to my sister and she told me not to give this woman the power to ruin my evening.”

After posting the video on TikTok, Daniella received support from viewers.

One said: “You are such a brave young lady. You are articulate and strong and you have handled this so well.”

Another added: “That was really brave of you. It’s really encouraging to see you confront her like that in that exact moment. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

Daniella said: “In the comments, people said I should have said this or that and some said I was too calm, but I was in shock and didn’t think that reacting like that would have solved anything.”

“I can’t express how unacceptable this is. The blame would never be placed on the victim. I should never have to wear something I don’t want to wear. I never will.”

If you are affected by any of the issues described in this story, Women’s Aid offers free, anonymous support via email or live chat.