YING TAI — A 33-year-old woman was raped in a COVID-19 quarantine center at Taunggyi University in southern Shan State on Sunday evening, according to local authorities.

Nangwaddy women’s dormitory , Quarantine Center at Taunggyi University

The survivor reported that the perpetrator, who has not yet been identified or apprehended, raped her at knifepoint while she was praying at the Nangwaddy women’s dormitory.

The woman had returned to Taunggyi from Myawaddy in Karen State on the same day as the attack, at 7:00 p.m. She said that she was raped at 8:30.

“The perpetrator is still at large. We are investigating this case… A case has been opened at the police station,” an officer on duty at the Taunggyi Myoma police station told SHAN.

Taunggyi residents told SHAN that this incident “should not have happened” and is indicative of the general dangers and insecurity that women face in their daily lives.

“The authorities need to consider the safety of women in quarantine centers,” local woman Nang Nang said.

The incident is the first known rape case in a quarantine center in Shan State during the COVID-19 pandemic.