PHOTO: 'I was raped. It has taken me six months to admit those three words', student writes about sexual assault

Oxford student Ione Wells, 20, who wrote an open letter to the youth who sexually assaulted her

An Oxford student who was raped by two men who then threw her in a bin has revealed her story as part of a campaign against sexual assault.

The #NotGuilty campaign was launched last week when Ione Wells, a student at Keble College at the University of Oxford, wrote an open letter to a 17-year-old who sexually assaulted her outside her London home. This was published in student newspaper Cherwell.

The brave 20-year-old waived her right to anonymity to describe in harrowing detail the attack that happened as she walked home in Camden, north London, after getting the last train.

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Now another 19-year-old female student, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has written an article for the Cherwell newspaper and Sunday Times about her ordeal.

In the piece she explains how she was approached by two men who overpowered her, tied her up and punched her before they subjected her to oral rape.

She wrote: 'They do not know how I felt when they chucked me in a bin once they were done, implanting the idea in my head that I was worthless. Used and then discarded.'
The teenager added that any feelings of security she had at her 'dream university' were shattered on the night of the attack. She said the one thing she was glad about was that she did not have to endure the assault as a man. She has called for more support for male victims of sexual assault.

She added: 'I was raped. It has taken me six months to admit those three words. For half of that time, I didn't remember. I didn't want to remember, suppressing the memory so that I could carry on with my life.'

The student said she has felt unable to tell police or her parents about the terrifying assault, and was receiving counselling.

Last week Miss Wells launched the #NotGuilty campaign, which aims to stop sexual assault victims being blamed for what happened to them. It has received support from across the world.

Her open letter, titled 'A letter to my assaulter' was published in Cherwell, the student newspaper at Oxford where she is reading English at Keble College.

It told how her alleged attacker followed her from the Tube station, dragged her by the hair, smashed her head against the pavement and grabbed her before running off when her family and neighbours came out.

Her attacker, who is 17, has pleaded guilty to sexual assault and will be sentenced on May 6 at Highbury magistrates' court.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was caught when police saw him on CCTV following another woman shortly after attacking Miss Wells.

The 20-year-old has not yet decided whether to face him in court. 

But she plans to focus on the campaign, which has gathered momentum at Oxford University with more people sharing their experiences of sexual assault and violence. She revealed her defiant letter, which has been received with much support, took her just 15 minutes to write.

Charlotte Juckes, 22, an editor for Cherwell, told the Sunday Times: 'Everyone knows someone who has been affected this way. Ione is not the first girl I have known who has been assaulted.' 

- DM

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