The Brutal Assault On Lara Logan

Rape is something that should never to be made light of, never to be joked about and the victim should never be considered to be “asking for it,” just because they are attractive. But that’s just what seems to be happening in the wake of the brutal assault on Lara Logan. The CBS corespondent was raped during what should have been a night of celebration, but instead Lara Logan was viciously assaulted on February 11th. She is now safely back in the states and is recuperating in the hospital. This was a horrible attack, one that she – and no-one – deserves, but some sites are implying that just because she happened to be blond and attractive, that this scenario was not just occupational hazard of being pretty but that this kind of attack was inevitable.

Amid the celebrations on the night of Hosni Mubarak's resignation, Logan was reporting on the scenes in Tahrir Square for the news programme 60 Minutes when the South African-born journalist, her camera crew and security staff were overwhelmed by what the US television network described as "a dangerous element ... a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy".

"In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers," CBS said in its statement released on Tuesday evening.

"She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering."

Logan joined CBS in 2002, after a television news career that included a spell at GMTV covering the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and is a veteran of reporting from warzones including Iraq and Kosovo.

CBS's chief foreign affairs correspondent, Logan had previously been detained by the Egyptian military for a day, as part of the Mubarak regime's crackdown on foreign journalists.

Logan serves on the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which documented 140 attacks on journalists in Egypt during the protests this month.

"We have seen Lara's compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced brutal aggression while doing their jobs. She is a brilliant, courageous and committed reporter. Our thoughts are with Lara as she recovers," said Paul Steiger, chairman of the committee.

CBS said it will make no further comment. "Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time," the network said in its statement.