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Your support makes all the difference.Why do we know her name?
Because she wanted us to know it. Ione Wells, 20, an Oxford university student has waived her right to lifelong anonymity in an open letter detailing her sexual assault at Chalk Farm Tube station in London this month.
What does the letter say?
It is addressed to Ione’s attacker, though she does not know the 17-year-old’s name. Published through the university’s student newspaper, Cherwell, it tells how he followed her as she left the Tube station in the early hours of April 11 before smashing her head against the pavement and tearing her bra in half. She asks him: “Did you ever think of the people in your life?”
What’s the bottom line?
“My community will not feel we are unsafe walking back home after dark,” she said. “We will get on the last Tube home, and we [will not]… submit to the idea that we are putting ourselves in danger in doing so.”
Brave words
The Camden woman wrote the letter as she launched a campaign by Cherwell called Not Guilty. Ione wants to make clear that victims of sexual assault are never guilty. The paper hopes the letter will inspire others.
What has been the reaction?
Overwhelming for Ione herself. On Tuesday she tweeted from @ionewells: “Wow – what a wonderful community. YOU have all proved my points about community in your support. Thank you! Let’s do this! #notguilty.”
What of the attacker?
The teenager pleaded guilty to sexual assault and will be sentenced on 6 May at Highbury Magistrates Court.
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