Most of the journalists reporting and commenting on the death more merciful than tragic of nurse Aruna Shanbaug are well over a generation removed from the incident. Their reference points are from the archives, their sense of shock and outrage dimmed by time. The story of a nurse brutally assaulted in her place of work by a wardboy should belong in the pages of history. Unfortunately, it is a history that repeats itself with sickening regularity.

Increasingly, as we spend longer hours at work, for many of us the workplace is a second home of sorts. It is a familiar place, where we feel comfortable enough to be ourselves and to give our best. A sense of security in such a place goes without saying. Which is why an assault, or even an untoward overture, in the workplace is much worse than one in a public place.