An American woman living in Bali has an important lesson for all of us when it comes to being safe on a night out.
Mara Wolford, an entrepreneur who has lived all around Asia for decades, took to Facebook recently to share the story of how her drink was spiked with a triple dose of the date rape drug Rohypnol.
Mara said that she sharing her experience in order to increase awareness surrounding the issue of date rape in the hopes that it might help more women in the future.
(photo via facebook)
In her Facebook post, entitled ‘Goodbye Bali and F**k you’, Mara starts with how she went to a bar with two friends and ordered mojitos. She explains that she had been mixing her drinks that night and confirmed that she did leave her drink unattended to go to the bathroom.
What happened next, is best described in Mara’s own words
“Half- way through the second drink the Rohypnol kicked in with a fury. I knew what it was because this happened three years ago and it was terrifying. From the speed in which this was happening it felt like multiple doses”
Panic stricken, Mara decided it would be best to leave the bar and walk the 200 meters to her house.
She only managed to make it 20 meters before she collapsed and fell.
Luckily, a passerby on a motorcycle saw her struggle and helped her back to her friends.
“I am now nearly paralysed and can barely talk” she says.
She continues
“Between projectile vomiting and loss of all bodily function, I nearly go into organ failure. I can feel my whole body shutting down”
Since sharing the post, Mara says that she has received over a hundred responses from women who have had similar experiences, and most of them were tourists. She spoke to stuffnz
“Many of them did not know what was happening to them, many of them were alone, and many were raped or sequestered for days… I’m certain many more are too ashamed to talk about it”
Mara felt like she had a lucky escape but has resolved to leave Bali because she feels that women are not respected there, she said.
“This is not acceptable, and if women are not respected or protected here, this horrific problem will most certainly tarnish the reputation of tourism in Bali.
“I really don’t know who would think it was funny or a good idea to slip a 51-kilo woman enough Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) as to nearly kill her, but it reconfirms for me that they aren’t the type of people I want around me. Bye”
If this has affected you or someone that you know you can find a list of rape crisis centres around the country, here.
