'Where are we safe?' asked communities after rape of Sikh woman in own home

The rape and religiously aggravated assault of a young Sikh woman in her own home left women and girls wondering whether there was anywhere they were safe, a domestic abuse charity has said.

The attack in Walsall on 25 October 2025 "struck fear" through communities in the West Midlands, according to Sukhvinder Kaur, chair of trustees at Sikh Women's Aid.

On Friday, John Ashby was given a life prison sentence for his crimes, which began when he followed his victim - a stranger to him - off a bus, and into her property.

He used a stick to beat the woman during the ordeal, having targeted her out of hate for her background, or perceived background. As he held her captive, he uttered anti-Muslim abuse in the mistaken belief she followed Islam.

The events caused "terror and fear for her as a victim survivor, then us as the community that lives local to her", Kaur said of the period following the violence.

She explained: "We held a community meeting for women and girls and the consensus was that we were not safe on the streets."

As details of the crime emerged, many felt they were not even safe in their own homes, Kaur added.

"So women were asking the question 'where are we safe'?"

Kaur pointed out there was nothing unusual about the lead-up to the attack.

The victim, in her 20s, "went to work, she did some shopping, she took public transport home, she was walking in a very well-lit area and she went back to her home", she said.

"Women and girls, especially those women of colour, of South Asian descent, saw themselves, saw their daughters, saw their sisters through this woman's experience."

And there was a further issue troubling communities - the violence was not isolated.

Kaur said the attack was the second rape of a Sikh woman in the space of a few weeks in the region.

Just 10 miles (16km) away on 9 September, a woman in her 20s was raped on Tame Road in Oldbury, during violence said to have a racially aggravated element.

This attack sparked protests over the safety of women.

Another woman was also assaulted with an electrical stun device in Wolverhampton on 27 October in what police said was a racially aggravated assault, although not a sexual one.

West Midlands Police told the BBC that three people arrested in connection with the Oldbury rape remained on bail and the investigation was continuing.

After Ashby's sentencing in the Walsall case on Friday, the force issued the following statement: "We understand the impact this horrific attack had on communities in the West Midlands and beyond.

"We have spoken with faith and community leaders in the aftermath of what happened and remain committed to doing everything we can to make women safer, and feel safer.

"We will continue to speak and listen to women's charities, female community leaders, community safety partners, independent advisory groups and local politicians as that work continues."

Kaur said what happened in Walsall could not be separated from the "toxic narratives" around migration and immigration.

"All of that played into the hatred that this perpetrator held against a community and the way in which he manifested that, it really put fear into the communities across the West Midlands," she said.

She added: "There have been racially aggravated assaults still happening across communities, and we really have to look at the narrative that is being played out across society that is very divisive and looks to divide communities.

"If we see a rise in crimes like this it is going to really shake the foundations of what is a very vibrant and diverse community across the West Midlands."

Details of help and support with sexual violence are available at BBC Action Line.

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