“I don’t think anybody chooses to make the most humiliating experience of their life something to be publicly known for,” she said in an interview with the Guardian, explaining why she continued to pursue justice despite the odds.
“But this shame is not ours, and I want to make this easier for the next person to speak out.”
Despite going to the police the day after the alleged rape, her case was not prosecuted. Two appeals to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were dismissed and she was denied criminal injuries compensation because police told the awarding body she was “not a credible witness”.
“First and foremost I wanted justice,” said Janneh, now 37. “I wanted to be able to share this story with the world.”
Janneh first saw the therapist, Michael Lousada, in 2011. She had been sexually abused as a child, and did not receive proper help to process this. It had left her with depression, as well as suffering panic attacks during consensual sexual activity with partners.
“Because I really did not understand what was happening to me and it was really overwhelming, and I experienced a lot of shame and embarrassment about it, I felt like I needed to get help,” she said.
One day she picked up a copy of the Metro newspaper and read an article about Lousada, in which he said he wanted to bring the services he offered to the NHS. She booked two sessions with him, which was all she could afford at the time, and did not have any concerns arising from those.
In the intervening years before she saw Lousada again, she had more traditional talking therapy . “I was in a really good place psychologically and emotionally,” she said. “I felt very excited about my future. I felt very, very good about the progress I had made .”
Denne historien er fra June 24, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra June 24, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Dovid Efune Why frontrunner to buy Telegraph is causing alarm
A little over a decade ago Dovid Efune was juggling the editorship of the New York-based Jewish publication the Algemeiner Journal while also handling publicity for Israel's first world boxing champion.
Starmer signals huge increase in UK green investment
Keir Starmer has signalled that his government will drastically increase its green investment plans in an attempt to avoid a rerun of 1980s-style industrial decline by safeguarding jobs in heartland manufacturing communities.
Bet365 saved up to £140m in tax from boss's charity fund
A charity set up by the billionaire boss of Bet365, Denise Coates, may have saved her online gambling empire more in tax than the foundation has so far given to good causes, a Guardian analysis suggests.
Evidence of boy's abuse prompts review of Menendez killers case
Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city's district attorney said Thursday.
Obama to hit the Harris campaign trail in blitz on key battlegrounds
Barack Obama will go on the road to campaign for Kamala Harris next week as she and her Republican challenger, Donald Trump, prepare to crisscross the battleground states that will probably decide the 2024 presidential election, now just one month away.
Packham joins activist body but says 'stop disruption'
Climate activists need to stop blocking roads and start holding fossil fuel executives personally to account, Chris Packham has said, shortly after being appointed to the board of one of the biggest activist funds in the world.
Antarctica 'greens' at dramatic rate as heating brings profound change to icy continent
Plant cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has soared more than tenfold over the last few decades, as the climate crisis heats up the icy continent.
Renaissance men Midlife makeovers steal the spotlight at Paris fashion shows
Twenty-something pop singers are usually the default stars of fashion week. But it was older men who unexpectedly stole the spotlight at the latest Paris shows.
Inquest into baby death in 2014 told of years of 'dishonesty' by hospital
A grieving mother has told an inquest how secretive, evasive and \"patronising\" behaviour by NHS staff was \"traumatic\" and led to her spending years seeking the truth about her daughter's death.
Royal Navy apologises for 'intolerable' misogyny exposed on submarines
The head of the Royal Navy has issued an unreserved apology for \"intolerable\" misogyny within the Submarine Service, after a slew of investigations exposed sexual harassment, bullying and assault of women within its ranks.
