Disclaimer:

I’m using my original account to prove legitimacy, but this is not an invitation to dox me. I’m sharing my story for the benefit of other people, especially women who travel alone. If this post doesn’t resonate to you, feel free to skip it. Keep your judgment and victim blaming to yourself-I’ve had enough of that already.

I'll attempt to tell the story as objectively and factually as possible.

Team Lakay did not pay me to do this lol.

******

On August 31, I traveled to Boracay as a solo female traveler. I’ve been traveling solo on-and-off across the Philippines for the past 10 months but this is my first time in Boracay. A fellow solo female traveler I met during my travels had recommended it to me. She stayed in Boracay for more than a month earlier this year. I work remotely and study at night too. So I try to create a routine while traveling. I’m a budget traveler who enjoys socializing whenever I can.

I booked a hostel near Station 1 and planned to stay for two weeks. My daily routine involved working from morning until mid-afternoon, then heading to the beach by 3 or 4pm.

Typhoon Enteng passed through PH, making the beach full of debris and unsuitable for swimming. So I spent those afternoons walking along the shore, watching the kite surfers. It was is too cloudy for sunset viewing, so I would usually return to my hostel before 6pm and prepare for my 7pm online class. This has been my routine for 4 days.

On September 4, I went to the beach as part of the routine. On my way back, I ran into my dorm mates who invited me to have coffee. They had become my friends during my stay in this trip so I joined them. We had coffee.

By 6:30pm I decided to head back to the hostel. One of my dorm mates offered to accompany me back to our hostel, but I insisted that I should be okay alone since they had other plans. I’ve assessed that it would take me 30 minutes to get back to the hostel for my 7pm class.

I always took the same shortcut - a narrow path from White Beach going to my hostel, and it’s usually full of tourists even late in the afternoon. Not this time tho. This time, there were no people, and there’s no sunset so it’s dark. I used my phone’s flashlight to see my way through. All I had in mind was to catch my 7pm class.

At 6:52 I went past the cliffside - what I’d consider to be the most dangerous part of the shortcut. I would be 8 minutes away from my destination when I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head. I fell face-first into the sand, dizzy but I was still conscious. He flipped me so that I would lie on my back and face him. He was shirtless. He laid on top of me pressing his weight down on the lower half of my body. I started screaming. He was able to hold down my left arm and I felt him kiss my neck. Or more like he was biting my jaw while also trying to unbutton his pants. I vaguely remember it, but I think I was able to bite him back on the face. The details of the commotion was a blur to me.

Luckily I had trained jiu-jitsu with Team Lakay years ago. I instinctively crossed my legs, and locked them so he wouldn’t have access to my private parts. Even though I couldn’t kick him, my right hand was free so I threw punches and scratches. I was trying to grab his hair to pull his head away from me but couldn’t touch it. He might be bald or wearing a cap. I still threw punches and moved my body. I never stopped screaming. This lasted for maybe a minute or two until he got exhausted.

I think he eventually realized he could not rape me. He removed his body from me and started pulling my phone that I was holding on tightly. When I realized he’s now after my phone, I let it go. He ran off. I stood up and started running. I looked back and saw my phone on the sand a few steps away with its flashlight still on. He did not steal it after all. I quickly took it and continued running towards my hostel.

About 30 meters away, I encountered tourists about to pass by the same shortcut. I asked for their help and they accompanied me back to my hostel where I asked the receptionist to help me file a report to the police.

Common Questions:

• Can I identify the man? No. But I remember that he has a small build, Filipino. He could be a young guy. I couldn’t grab his hair so I’m assuming he didn’t have hair or was wearing a cap. He’s topless but his green shirt was hanging on his shoulders.
• What was I wearing? I hated this question the most because it implied I was intentionally attracting this kind of attention. I wore a plain grey v-neck shirt and denim shorts just above the knees. At the police station, they asked if I was wearing anything provocative. I didn’t change my clothes, and they looked at me from head to toe as if to confirm that my clothes had nothing to do with the attack.

Police procedures:

The police asked standard questions about my identity and why I was there. I recounted the story multiple times. They asked me to get medicolegal from the hospital. They then accompanied me back to the crime scene where I recreated what happened. The latest update I received was that there were no CCTVs in the area, so there are no strong leads.

Theories:

While waiting for the police to arrive, I saw some habal habal drove past us and their uniform is the same green color as the one I saw hanging on the attacker’s shoulder. The attacker also didn’t need flashlight in a pitch dark area so I’d assume he’s familiar with the place. But the locals were not happy at the idea that the attacker was among them. They were saying it could be a dayo from a different island. It’s possible, but I strongly believe he’s a local.

Lessons learned:

Obviously, being alone in the dark is dangerous. Please avoid it whenever possible.

• Maintain spatial awareness. I was listening to music when this happened. I could’ve heard someone if I were not wearing my headset.
• Learn self-defense. I was lucky I still remember Jiu-jitsu from Team Lakay 8 years ago. A pepper spray or taser can help, but evil people can attack you on your unguarded moments when you don’t have any of those. If you were stripped of all these things, would you still be able to fight back? The best self-defense is to run or walk away.
• Trust your gut. I had a bad feeling about the shortcut when I saw it was dark. But my rational mind thought I had to head back before 7pm at all cost. So I risked it.

Moving Forward:

Judging by how the police handled the case, I don’t expect much. I’m only sharing my story to raise awareness because this attacker is still out there.

I was traumatized, but the people around me and my friends from far away gave me the emotional first aid that I needed. I still have nightmares, anxiety when I see shirtless men, and I panic if I’m outside after dark.

I felt like this incident could have been my death. I don’t know how to explain it but I’ve become more life-thirsty after this, so I’m still continuing my solo travels. I’m not done with life yet.

I've come to terms with the fact that raising awareness about this incident is the closest thing to justice I will ever receive. So let it be known.

TLDR: A guy attacked and attempted to rape me when I was in Boracay. I was able to fight back, thanks to my training, and reported to the police.

https://preview.redd.it/o6m0hcgee9wd1.png?width=984&format=png&auto=webp&s=35981293ec154649b3594ffce2f33e9cc5719dd2

https://preview.redd.it/v22e8dgee9wd1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=a98d30ef98e84704c642cced2514e74a45b6712b