By Kira Gibson
A second year student at De Montfort University has come forward after the murder of Sarah Everard to reveal her own abuse torment.
Ellorie [not her real name], 22, came forward after seeing multiple women tell their stories about their experiences with sexual abuse.
She said: “I’ve been through multiple negative sexual experiences in my life. It started when I was 11, and never really stopped to be honest.
“I went through an abusive relationship when I first started secondary school, which lasted several years. I never actually knew what I was going through was wrong, that it shouldn’t happen in relationships until my mum told me.”
Many women experience abusive relationships in their life, but not everyone knows how to get out, or to report the second party.
“The worst experience was a few years ago when someone tried to rape me. Everyone tells me I was strong and brave to get him to get off of me, but I still don’t believe it.
“When I reported it, the police officer I spoke to for my first statement asked me “What were you wearing?” as if the attempted rape had anything to do with what I was wearing.
“These experiences, they left me broken. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to have a normal relationship with someone again, and my mental health hit an all-time low. It’s so hard to pick up the pieces of your broken soul after something like this.
“In reality, I was lucky. I had a best friend and family who made sure I got through the hard part and that I wasn’t alone. Many people don’t have that, and some don’t get through the pain.
“I wish for the police to take these claims seriously and help those affected the best they can. My case was horrific and it took six months for them to take statements from those who I spoke to in the first few days.“
A study by UN Women UK reports that 97 per cent of all women experience sexual harassment or abuse in their life, and many don’t report it for fear of retaliation or because they don’t know how to deal with what just happened.
Ellorie continued: “I found that the police force was seriously overworked, with them bringing officers from other areas just to deal with cases like mine.
“But hardly any go to court, as there is a lack of proof with most cases. It took a year of them dallying around with the investigation for them to tell me that the case wasn’t going to court.“
There is no statute of limitation for reporting sexual harassment cases, so you can report cases from several years ago.
To report a sexual harassment case online, please go to https://www.police.uk/pu/contact-the-police/report-a-crime-incident/ or call 101.
Please call 999 if the incident has just happened.
For mental health help in the UK, please call Samaritans on 116 123.
All names have been changed for privacy.
