Shocking before and after photos show a runner’s brutal injuries after she was attacked by a man with a makeshift weapon while jogging in a state forest
- Woman attacked by unidentified man in Victorian park
- Sissy Austin, 28, was running through Lal Lal state forest on Saturday
- She was then struck by a rock tied to a stick and knocked out
The 28-year-old Indigenous rights’ campaigner, Sissy Austin, was running along a motorcycle track in the Lal Lal state forest, south-east of Ballarat in Victoria, at around 4.30pm on February 11 when she was struck by a man.
She was struck in the head by a rock tied at the end of a stick, knocking her unconscious.
Indigenous rights’ activist, Sissy Austin, 28, was beaten by an unidentified man while running in the Lal Lal state forest near Ballarat on Saturday
Ms Austin posted photos of herself before and after the attack at the hands of a man with a rock tied to a stick
Ms Austin awoke a few minutes later, bloodied, dizzy and with her attacker no where to be found.
She was forced to run the four kilometres back to her car in order to alert emergency services.
‘Had to get 4kms back to my car before I called police and an ambulance came and got me,’ Ms Austin posted on Facebook.
‘Home now from hospital but in shock with a massive throbbing headache.
‘Women should be able to safely go for a f***ing run in this colony.’
In the same post, Ms Austin added an image of her shortly after the beating showing her lip swollen and dried blood splattered across her face.
Outside of the physical injuries, Ms Austin said she is mentally coming to terms with the loss of a safe place.
‘That place is my safe, go-to place. I feel like I’m [now] grieving that place now,’ she told the ABC.
‘I run out there all the time. It’s beautiful country, Wathaurong country.’
The Lal Lal state forest is a ‘safe, go-to place’ for Ms Austin who said she is now ‘grieving that place’
Victoria Police is investigating the attack.
‘The male offender is perceived to be Caucasian in appearance and was wearing black jeans, a cap and no shoes or shirt,’ police said in a statement.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Ms Austin, a Djab Wurrung woman, was one of the inaugural members of the First People’s Assembly in Victoria.
She was also a senate candidate for the Greens in 2022.
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