Young homeless woman and her mother speaking out after alleged rape

MONCTON, N.B. – A Moncton mother says her daughter has no safe-haven, after reporting that she was raped last week.

They are sharing their story hoping it might help get a women-only homeless shelter in Moncton.

“Where does it end,” the mother said. “A shelter for young women and women in general is needed right now on the streets.”

Global News has agreed not to identify the mother or the young woman.

The young woman, who has spent seven months living on the streets, says at first, she did not realize anything had happened.

“I didn’t find out until the morning after, when I saw stuff all over me and I was bruised,” she said, explaining the stuff she was talking about was semen.

She says she had got high on a concoction of drugs the night of the alleged attack and was passed out. She said she did not give consent, but knew the man who attacked her. According to her, he was also living on the streets.

She said that at first she wasn’t going to report it.

“People threatened to beat me up if I told the police and stuff,” she said. “I just kept my mouth shut for a little bit until I talked to my mom and she said you don’t want this to happen to other girls, so you need to report it to the police.”

The victim is a drug addict. She chose to leave home because drugs were not welcome there.

Her mother said she wished her daughter would come home.

When not high, the victim said she spends her nights at Harvest House, a local homeless shelter. It’s the same shelter where her alleged attacker often sleeps.

“We still do offer help to both individuals,” said Danny Gallant, the shelter manager. “So how things would work – if she’s here first, he wouldn’t be allowed to be here. If he’s here then she can choose to come in or not.”

According to documents obtained by Global News, her alleged attacker was released on a promise to appear and is expected in court on January 13.

In the meantime, the young woman says that with no women’s shelter to turn to for help, there’s no escaping the man she alleges attacked her.

“Everywhere that I go, he’s there, cause Moncton may seem big, but when you’re homeless it’s really small,” she said. “There’s very few places you can go to for help.”