Share and Follow
A woman has told SBS News she feels unsafe and scared to leave her house after being attacked in what she believes was an Islamophobic incident.
Victoria Police has said it is aware of the incident and is investigating.
The woman, whose identity is not being shared for safety and privacy reasons, said she was visiting Pacific Epping, a shopping centre in Melbourne’s north on her work lunch break when a woman “came out of nowhere” and hit her across the face.
“[She] pushed me in my chest, grabbed my chest and pushed me so hard on the tiles, and I fell to the ground, and when I fell, I felt like every bone of mine broke, she shoved me so hard,” she said.
“And then she walked off as if nothing happened.”
The woman said witnesses helped her up and called security.
She said shortly afterwards, another woman approached her and said she had also been violently attacked.
Neither of them saw the alleged attacker’s face, but the woman told SBS News they believe it was the same person due to the clothing and features they were able to see.
She believes the attacks were motivated by Islamophobia as both victims were hijabi Muslim women.
She said the attack had left her feeling scared to leave her house.
“I’ve just been crying, the scene just can’t go from my mind,” she said.
“Nothing [has] happened to me like that before, it’s the first time, especially [since] I was born here, this is my country. I’m not safe in my own country.”
The woman said she and the other woman had a number of injuries and had attended the hospital after the attack.
“They took [the other woman] first because she was pregnant, and it took several hours until they called my name,” she said.
“I had really bad back pain, I couldn’t breathe properly, [it felt] as if there was a knife between my ribs,” she said.
She said after a series of tests and x-rays, she was referred to a specialist clinic for her back pain and a psychologist for her emotional distress.
“I’ve got scratches and redness all over my arm … my eye was red and teary, and [I’ve got] scratches all over my left side of my cheek, and a slight bruise on my left cheek from the hit,” she said.
“I’m bruised all over … I haven’t been sleeping properly, all my body hurts.”
Police investigating assaults
In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed they had received a report of an assault in Epping on 13 February.
Police said it is believed an unidentified woman pushed a female patron to the floor and then fled on foot with another female and two males.
Officers were told another woman was also assaulted by the offender, police said.
