“He asked me where I lived, I didn’t answer him and he pushed me against the wall while pulling down his pants. I kicked him, he got one states out of his pocket, he threatened me and I started screaming and trying not to get caught & rdquor ;. Aloe Matthew He was 20 years old when he was the victim of a attempted rape in an assault that caused the fracture of three ribs. I was coming home from the patron saint festivities of Sant Adrià de Besòs. That night in september 2016, Aloe was waiting for the bus with a friend. “She came home at night because she lived far away and she didn’t want to walk down the street alone. Since the stop was right in front of my house, I decided to wait with her until the bus arrived. Me I felt safe because I was in front of my portal & rdquor ;. When her friend left, she headed for the goal. When I enter, a man cornered her on the landing, attacked her with a sharp object. Fortunately for the young woman, her sister heard her cries for help and went out to help her. The assailant tried to run away but with the help of some young people who were still on the street, they held him until the police arrived. Khurram Shahzad, the assailant, is serving an 11-year prison sentence in the Can Brians prison (Baix Llobregat).
Aloe Mateu’s story sprouts 11 days after the inhuman rape of a 16-year-old girl in Igualada, the week in which the trial for the multiple rape of a woman is held in Molins de Rei (Barcelona) in 2018. Five years after suffering the sexual assault, she arms herself with courage and tells EL PERIÓDICO how her life has been after the terrible event and how he managed to get ahead.
A 180 degree turn
Matthew is pastry chef by profession and currently lives in Girona. Her life has taken a 180 degree turn since then but today she is strong enough to tell what happened and give a ray of hope to all those women who have been through the same situation. “I was able to continue with my life because, despite everything, I was always very clear that I was not to blame for anything And that locking myself at home did not benefit me in any way, no matter how scared I might be, & rdquor; says the young woman.
“Locking myself at home did not benefit me in any way, no matter how scared I might be”
Currently, Aloe wears a normal life. She works in the mornings in a pastry shop in Girona, shares a flat with her partner, they have two cats and a bitch. The aggression that marked a before and after has not prevented her from moving on with her life and although she feels stable, she claims to know that still not quite right. “I consider myself recovered although I know that I have secuelas”. Keep having episodes of anxiety when alone, especially if it is at night, if you pass a stranger or notice someone walking behind you. “I wouldn’t call it persecution mania, but I do always have paranoia with which I have someone behind. All because when my attacker sneaked into my portal, he did it by getting behind me, almost glued to my body, without my noticing. That’s why it always gives me that anguish of what if & mldr;? & Rdquor ;.
The recuperation
It underlines, however, the capacity that he has had to be able to close this fateful chapter of his life autonomously, since at the end of the judicial process decided not to continue with psychological therapy. “I was very clear that nothing that happened had been my fault. This helped me a lot to do self-therapy & rdquor ;, although it does explain that the beginnings were difficult. His zone of residence, which should be his comfort zone, scared him, a fact that was aggravated when he reached his portal. “I was afraid to walk alone in the neighborhood, especially at night and entering my portal was a nightmare. When you find yourself in the situation you have to make a deep reflection to be able to face those fears. If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have been able to enter my parents’ house anymore & rdquor ;.
“I have been fortunate that I have never felt abandoned by the institutions”
During the process from the rape to the trial and final judgment, she felt very supported. “I have been fortunate that I have never felt abandoned by the institutions. In his day they assigned me a psychologist to be able to do therapy and today if I wanted I could continue going & rdquor ;. By his own decision, he decided not to continue with the therapy at that time, which does not prevent him advise victims seek psychological help. “I did not continue with therapy because I consider myself a strong person. It was always clear to me that sexist violence is not our fault, it is the fault of the aggressors, of the system. I did not want to continue because I did not want to continue feeling like a victim knowing that I was. For me that process was continually remembering what had happened and all I wanted was to close it. In the end each has a different grieving process. Despite everything, I have received very good institutional assistance and I recommend all women who have been victims to go & rdquor ;. In fact, it maintains contact with the Office of Victim Attendance (OAVG). “A psychologist who keeps calling me to do a little control and informs me of everything related to the current state of my agresor”.
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He insists that the best therapy was to tell his story to his family, friends and even make a complaint through social networks. “I encourage all women to do it. We do not have to be ashamed or afraid. The best therapy is to let go of everything you have inside and your friends and family will always support you. In addition, in these cases the complaint through social networks is important because it helps to give visibility to sexist violence and to make people see that violence can be found closer than we think & rdquor ;.
Aloe’s assault occurred on the night of September 10-11, 2016. According to the sentence, Khurram Shahzad, the assailant, is serving an 11-year sentence in Brians prison pending the award of the third degree. When the permit comes, you have a restraining order towards the victim. “They are obliged to keep me informed about the status of my attacker. This reassures me and lets me see that the institutions have a great commitment to sexual assault and gender violence & rdquor ;, he concludes.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com