Rachel Kila has waived her right to anonymity to join dozens of others speaking out about the experiences of young girls in Byron Bay in the early 2000s, when they say it became normalised for older boys and men to groom and have sex with girls, then publicly humiliate them.
Fifteen women have alleged to the ABC they were raped or sexually assaulted by older boys or adult men when they were as young as 12, and seven said they were in “relationships” with older boys or adult men in their early teens.
Some of the women described being sprayed with urine, faeces and semen, and being spied on during sex, part of a culture of public degradation they said was pervasive in the popular tourist resort town.
At least three women said they left school early because of their experiences and many described issues with relationships, intimacy and drugs and alcohol because of the men’s behaviour.
“It was like Puberty Blues on steroids,” one woman said.
Source: Women reveal Byron Bay’s predatory 2000s culture of rape, humiliation and shame – ABC News