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More than a decade after she was attacked by a stranger on her own street, Tahlia Giumelli has asked the dark question that worries so many Australian women.
“Will there ever be a time when we as women feel safe even when we walk in broad daylight?
The model, mother of two and wife of South Sydney Rabbitohs player Tom Burgess shared on Instagram the experience that still affects her today, revisiting the moment she was attacked in broad daylight.
“14 years ago today, the day after my 17th birthday, I was walking home from school and I was followed and randomly attacked on my street,” she said in a message on Instagram.
“This event would change my life forever.”
Tom Burgess and Tahlia Giumelli pictured. Source: Instagram
“Spending months in and out of police stations, interrogation rooms, working with police to draw up a sketch and months later ultimately leading to a positive identification and arrest, which would then turn into several months of trial and waiting before a sentencing hearing and ultimately a prison sentence for multiple crimes against women.
In an Instagram post in 2018, Ms Giumelli spoke about the attack and shared her anger over the “growing problem” of violence against women in Australia. The post coincided with the murder of Melbourne woman Eurydice Dixon.
Ms Giumelli said the man who attacked would continue to reoffend after being released from prison.
“Unfortunately, in the last 14 years nothing has changed, women still cannot run or walk without being attacked or worse, as recently proven in the media.
Tahlia Giumelli has shared the moment she was attacked on her own street 14 years ago. Photo: Instagram
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph in 2018, she said her experiences as a teenager left her with post-traumatic stress disorder and nightmares.
“I live in fear. I live in fear because this happened to me and it continues to get worse,” Ms. Giumelli said.
“I have a 6ft 5in (196cm) built boyfriend and I’m always scared.
“I will always look behind me, I will never walk at night.”
Ms Giumelli has previously spoken of suffering PTSD as a result of the attack. Source: Instagram
Police are still searching for Samantha Murphy’s remains, almost two months after she disappeared.
Ms Giumelli’s comments come as Victoria Police continue to search for the body of missing mother-of-three Samantha Murphy, two weeks after Patrick Stephenson was charged with her murder.
Ms Murphy was reportedly killed while out for a routine jog in the Canadian national forest on February 4.
Ms. Giumelli said that as a mother, she is now obligated to teach her daughters to remain aware of their surroundings at all times, simply by virtue of being born female.
“Now, as a mother of two girls, it is my duty to teach them to be constantly alert to the dangers around them and to teach them the confidence to defend themselves because they are women,” she said. -she declared.
“Fourteen years later, women are still just as vulnerable.”
Ms. Giumelli asked her supporters: “When will we stop feeling vulnerable because of our gender.”