VICTIMS of sexual assault should not be ashamed, afraid to speak out or fearful of reporting their attackers to the police, a woman has said after a man who attacked her was jailed last week.
The Islander, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity, spoke out after 27-year-old Abdelkarim Arfaoui was sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of embarking on a spate of sex crimes during the early hours of the morning in St Helier.
She appeared in the Royal Court in July to recall the morning when she was walking to the gym and was approached by Arfaoui, who asked her for her name and made vulgar references to his penis. He pursued her – despite her telling him to leave her alone – and grabbed her buttocks.
Speaking to the JEP, the woman said: “After the incident, I was shocked, scared, lost, and struggling to process what happened. I was afraid to speak out and worried about whether the police would believe me and take me seriously.”
She said she decided to report the assault after seeing a police appeal, which officers issued after another of Arfaoui’s victims raised the alarm and investigators used CCTV to retrace his steps. In total, Arfaoui attacked five women in the space of 90 minutes.
The woman said: “When I read on the news that the police were looking for me, I realised I needed to do the right thing. I knew what happened was wrong and I could no longer carry it without acting.
“Reporting wasn’t an easy decision, it was frightening, and I was very nervous. But finding the courage to speak up was one of the hardest and bravest things I have ever done.”
Arfaoui denied his crimes but a jury convicted him of ten offences – one attempted rape, five counts of sexual touching without consent, two counts of common assault, one count of threatening and abusive behaviour and one count of grave and criminal assault.
As well as being jailed for nine years, Arfaoui was recommended for deportation after serving his sentence and will be on the sex offenders register for a minimum of 12 years.
Reflecting on her concerns about reporting the incident, the woman recalled thinking: “If I go to the police, it’s going to be my word against his word. I don’t know if they’re going to trust me or not and I was struggling to put everything, all the feelings, all the emotions, all the thoughts, put everything in place.
But she praised officers who did an “amazing”, adding “they helped me 24/7.”
She said: “If there is one message I would want other women to hear, it will be this: Please don’t be ashamed, and please don’t suffer in silence.
“I know how difficult it can be to speak about what happened. You can feel embarrassed, confused, or even blame yourself sometimes.
“But I want other women to know that is not your fault, and you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. The shame belongs to the person who chose to hurt you, not to you. Please, when you feel ready, reach out and ask for help. Tell someone you trust. Speak to someone who can support you.
“You don’t have to carry that pain on your own. Asking for help – it’s not a weakness, it is an act of courage. Don’t give up.
“If speaking out can help even one woman feel less alone, and give her the courage to ask for help, then I feel that my voice has a purpose.”
She received support from Victims First and Jersey Action Against Rape – and carries with her a ball she was given on her first appointment with JAAR with the inscription ‘don’t give up’.
She described “a long process to feel safe again”, but stressed that she felt the emotional impact of the attack strongly because of previous traumatic experiences.
She said: “I want to make it clear that I feel this way because of the trauma I experienced, not because I believe that town itself is unsafe. I do believe that town is safe.”
After she had given evidence, the woman remained in court to hear the accounts of two more of Arfaoui’s victims as well as his defence.
She said their accounts were “very difficult to hear”.
“Knowing that other women had experienced something so similar brought up a lot of emotions for me,” she said.
“I felt upset and at times overwhelmed, because hearing their experience made me realise even more deeply that what happened to me wasn’t something I had imagined or somehow caused.”
