In 2018, a married London city worker (Sanjay Naker aged 28) employed at Price Waterhouse Cooper, was jailed for eight years, after repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in a 30-minute ordeal. Naker was discovered by a security guard, zipping up his trousers and standing over the woman he’d victimized, as she lay unconscious and half-naked in a pool of her own urine. He ran off and took a minicab back home to his wife and two children, where he googled the definition of “rape”. The assault was so bad that the teenager had to be hospitalized. Naker is what is referred to by those who work in the security industry, as a scavenger; an individual who loiters around bars and clubs looking for women who have become so disorientated by alcohol that they are not fully aware of their surroundings. They are often tired and exhausted, unable to judge/make sense of their situation, and in a physical state where they require some type of assistance/help, to walk and navigate their surroundings. Sexual predators, like Naker, are only too happy to offer to lend a hand. Whilst the judge at his trial described the attack as being “opportunistic”, it was only so in that a “suitable target” was available to him; he’d have waited for someone else or come back another night if an opportunity hadn’t presented itself. Sexual assailants like Naker plan their attacks, often sharing “tips” and “tactics” on internet forums. Often, they don’t regard their attacks as truly/properly constituting rape; in 2015 a now-famous essay that advocated making rape legal if it occurred on private property was published on one of these forums. Predators, such as Naker, often view themselves as skilled “hunters” who are simply taking advantage of a situation presented to them, for which they shouldn’t really be punished.

                Those who have been sexually victimized whilst drunk are often blamed, if only partly, for their assault e.g., if she hadn’t been drunk her attacker wouldn’t have been able to assault her etc. The teenager targeted by Naker was a teenager, who had stated that she’d never been that drunk before i.e., she had limited experience of the effects of alcohol. Despite being drunk, CCTV/Video footage showed her resisting and attempting to escape from Naker. She made the fact that she wasn’t consenting to sex with him very clear – even if she wasn’t able to verbally articulate. At trial, Naker insisted the sex was consensual, but what he didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand, is that consent has to be “actively” given; something he was probably trying to learn/establish during his internet searches, after the assault. In my experience, people often want to believe that the law reflects their own morality e.g., Naker, may have believed/wanted to believe that someone who doesn’t actually say “no”, is in fact saying “yes” etc. The absence of “no” is not a “yes”.  Such individuals may also attempt to ignore the context of such incidents. The fact that Naker, like most scavengers, was sober and was seen hanging around outside the club before he identified someone to sexually victimize, demonstrates his intent, which was always going to be significant at trial. There will be a dark corner of the internet where certain men will be expressing that what happened to Naker was unjust and unfair, and that a woman who gets so drunk is doing so in order to lower her inhibitions – consciously or subconsciously – so that she is able/confident enough to engage in sex i.e., someone that drunk is “asking for it”. The teenager Naker victimized – like all those targeted by scavengers – was not “asking for it”, she was confused, exhausted and disorientated, and simply wanted to get home. Naker took advantage of her vulnerability, just as other sexual assailants take advantage of others, possible through the familiarity and “friendship” they have with those they target.

       During my time working security I have seen/experienced scavengers. They hang around the clubs looking for women who have been thrown out because they are too drunk; the bars don’t want the liability of having people on their premises who are unable to function e.g., if someone falls asleep on a lavatory due to over-consumption of alcohol – something I’ve seen a lot off – then they’ll be evicted. You hope in the relative cold outside the club they’ll start to sober up, and/or their friends will come and find them etc. However, I’ve experienced situations where I’ve approached someone’s friends whilst inside the club, who weren’t ready to give up their night, to help/assist their friend get home safely. They’d often discount and downplay the situation and get their friend to agree that they were actually OK. Unfortunately, it should be understood, that door staff, often don’t have the resources to look after someone in such a state and are unwilling to have an ambulance – with the accompaniment of law-enforcement – turning up at their club; not a good look for when the liquor license needs to be renewed. In my time, I had probably thrown out as many women as men, usually not for acts of violence but due to inebriation. Most of the times I’ve seen scavengers approach women have been before the clubs turn everybody out (too many witnesses when large numbers of drinkers exit onto the streets); they are looking for lone/single women who have been ejected early for whatever reason and separated from their friends. The CCTV footage shows that when people passed by Naker, and the teenage girl he victimized, he pretended not to be with her. If you ever see an extremely drunk woman with a sober man, there’s a chance that it’s their partner or a friend, however you may be witnessing a scavenger on the hunt.

                With better weather on its way, which sees the nights getting warmer, more people are likely to be out on the street and taking part in/enjoying the nighttime economy. Whilst it would be good if more men were educated to the fact that “consent”  doesn’t exist on a spectrum, but is something that is fixed, absolute and concrete, there will always be sexual predators who are well aware of this fact and are looking for non-consenting women to victimize. This means, unfortunately, that women will always be at risk of sexual assault and will unfairly have to take the steps to protect themselves.  Being aware of a certain type of predator and where they hunt will hopefully help us to recognize that sober men, who are all to eager to help are most likely wolves in sheep’s clothing.