I hid pain of sexual assault for nine years. Now it’s time to stand up - do not be ashamed
Janice was working as a counsellor in Britain nine years ago when her nightmare happened
Janice was working as a counsellor in Britain when she first met the offender.
“This person was a case client of mine at the time,” she recalls. “I had explained to him that there was no need for us to continue our contact.”
Janice, who asked to be identified only by her first name, recalls the beginning of her worst nightmare. It took place nine years ago.
Having reiterated to the man several times that she could no longer offer him any more counselling, he continued to call, sometimes as often as 60 times a day.
The harassment persisted for months. Yet her employer refused to acknowledge there was a problem.
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“What did you do to lead him on?” were her managers’ exact words when she told them what happened. Their response fed her self-doubt. She started questioning herself. Was there something that I did to make this happen, she wondered. Then 25, she was aware of society’s perceptions and attitudes towards this kind of situation.
I remember I did everything I physically could to try to call for help, to try to stop him from dragging me inside