The life of a brave motorcyclist from Great Britain- Vasilisa is on a bit of a torment. But she is not an average pushover, she is not a lame person and will stop at nothing to fight back for justice she’s due for. A young and keen British motorcycling enthusiast was attacked and raped when she had been away on a solo-biking trip to Bolivia. Raped by a nefarious machete-wielding gang of men, Vasilisa, the victim in this case, was victimised needlessly.
When the attack occurred, Vasilisa, was all alone and had no one to call in for support. Wielding several machetes, three men targeted the lone biker out in the Bolivian wilderness. She was sad and cut a sombre figure then.
Today, Vasilisa has won an enduring battle against the three men who assaulted her dignity and has won a 12-month battle against the brutes who are in jail. The culprits are set to rot in a South American jail whilst the brave British biker has superbly faced the overwhelming odds.
Robbed, assaulted and, later- raped on a machete point, it’s hard to even imagine all that the British biker endured. It’s believed that upon being attacked, she was left unattended and may have very nearly died. Perhaps, not the best outcome for what was supposed to be a mind-boggling scenic trip across the Bolivian mountains.
But where most other hapless, distraught victims (of rape) may have reacted differently and would not be blamed for simply getting away from the place that caused the agony, Vasilisa’s response was reassuringly different. She, quite simply, stayed back in the same country where her dignity was assaulted- unless, of course, one were to forget that what matters above anything else for a woman is her self-independence and dignity (there is nothing more than a woman would ever want than for her dignity and respect to be protected).
Instead of therefore getting away from Bolivia, Vasilisa would stay back and urge the law authorities to consider her case for fighting back against her attackers. Under no situation would she hold herself back or escape into oblivion. Getting away and turning back against all the wrong that happened to her was never on this incredible British woman’s mind.
Vasilisa, 37, survived and fought back perhaps the most important battle she would have ever participated in; that of fighting for justice. But as is often the case with someone fighting for a right, just cause- her path would be laden by a corrupt and incredibly vicious system of Bolivia.
A story that was published in the famous British media outlet- Mirror- stated, “Valisia faced resistance at every turn “from a brutal and corrupt system” but refused to be beaten and won invaluable help from the British Consulate.”
And then, just when it had seemed that the path toward light may just get covered completely by the dark, there emerged hope and, eventually, a turning point. As of the last month, after nearly a year of fighting against a corrupt system in a country not considered the most prompt where dispensation of justice is concerned, Vasilisa’s attackers were subjected to a prison sentence of 42 years.
Can you believe that? Isn’t that the most incredible outcome for a lone but brave woman’s effort, someone, who until a few months in time back was another rape victim who may not have ever seen light at the end of the tunnel?
But, the incredibly daring soul wasn’t always in the finest of spirits waging war against a system she herself thought would never fetch her the justice she so richly deserved. It is because of the three rapists that Vasilisa often felt that there was no sun or light in this world and that things were bleaker than before.
“I somehow knew that I had to keep fighting and that stopping somewhere would just not make any sense, whatsoever,” said the triumphant woman in the aftermath of her incredible fight toward justice.
Unfortunately, all the three attackers- in the age group of 24 and 30- laughed hysterically when they were confronted by Vasilisa in the court. One wonders, how distraught would she have felt? That’s the last thing one wishes to see after having been assaulted by devilish perpetrators. Isn’t it? And it’s a fitting tribute to her fighting abilities that the lady did not seem daunted by the vile nature of the men and instead put everything on a stake in simply fighting for what was right- for the wrongdoers to be punished.
Here’s an extensive bit of description as shared by the Briton in reference to the ordeal she faced in the Bolivian court that ultimately upheld the justice, so crucial in this matter:
“They didn’t look into my eyes once. I wanted them to look, I wanted to burn them with my eyes. I was asked to point at each one and say exactly what this person did to me.
“When I pointed, I said ‘even now you are not looking into my eyes’. Only then did one, Yumacale, make eye contact – and then he smiled. It wasn’t the face of someone who felt guilty.
“Gongora and Bazan did not look at me. It was like they finally realised they hadn’t got away with it. I believe they expected to walk free.
“Those men didn’t look like they felt guilty, they just thought, ‘what a bitch – why is she doing this to us? She is just a body to be used’.
“People can’t do things like this. I am happy and relieved. There were so many things against me winning the case. The year wasn’t wasted.”