Rape victims can throw up or be brought to tears by the tactics of opposing lawyers.
Katy’s stepfather had sexually abused her from the age of nine until she left home at 21. He was initially found guilty of indecent assault and rape, but the conviction was overturned on appeal and a retrial ordered.
“The defence barrister’s style was deplorable,” Katy says of the retrial. ” He intimidated me the whole time. He would yell at me and come up really close to question me. I was surprised at his level of animosity. He called me every name under the sun. I was just a piece of shit to him.”
Katy describes the trials flatly, without emotion. She says she is describing incidents from a past life: the “younger Katy” who was repeatedly sexually assaulted and had to go through the trauma of multiple court cases.
Reference to this article in a book by Evan Whitton.