A young woman catches the bus.
It's 3am.
She's been to a Christmas party and it's below freezing outside.
She's 20 pence short of the fare.
She pleads with the driver to let her on. The driver refuses.
Can the bus wait for her as she goes to an ATM? "No," says the driver.
As the young woman tries to persuade the bus driver to let her on a dozen people are
caught on CCTV boarding the bus. Despite hearing the woman's pleas, nobody
offers to give her the 20p.
She has to get off the bus. It drives off leaving her stranded. She phones her mum and
explains what happened. Her mum drives to get her and the young woman starts
walking.
A few minutes later, she's pounced upon by a rapist. She's beaten so badly her mother
doesn't recognise her.
Would you have given her 20p?
The police officer in charge of the case is so disgusted he tells the passengers and bus
driver they need to examine their consciences.
This story really happened.
You can read about this terrible case here
The rapist was brought to justice. This piece of vermin was told he must serve a minimum of six-and-a-half years before he will be considered for release. Not much for ruining a young student's life.
But, for a measly 20 pence, this young woman would have been spared her ordeal.
And I tell it here because it's so sad that a lack of human compassion led to a young woman
being raped.
The next time you see someone who needs help, ask yourself "should I help them?" and say "
yes."
Because it's only when we reach out to one another we stop bad things from happening.
Note - this piece originally appeared here on the blog for my book Living Cruelty Free: Live a More Compassionate Life.