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THE two girls known as T and X didn't know each other before July 2002. Now they are friends, forever bonded by the same traumatic experience. The girls, both 17, are victims of notorious gang rapists, the K brothers. They went through the same undignified loss of liberty just one month apart, had their most intimate personal details divulged before the court, and through their courage, have come out of their ordeals stronger. Sitting in a park in Parramatta this week, the girls told of the terror of confronting their attackers and the empowerment that followed when their moment of revenge was realised. "I thought so many times about not testifying, but I don't regret that I did," X said. "I'd like to say to them now: 'You've been convicted and you are wrong'." T, who is in her HSC year, was so nervous before the trial, she mutilated her body with a pair of scissors. She also suffered anxiety attacks, depression and became bulimic. "The first day I gave evidence, I was really scared," she said. "But I just kept trying to stare them down and kept thinking: 'you are in the dock, not me'." When MSK's four guilty verdicts were read out, T said she wanted to hug the jury. She hopes it means she can finally move on. X, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, also hopes it will provide her with much-needed closure. Since the attack, she has dropped out of school and is struggling to attend a part-time hairdressing course. Both girls said being able to talk to each other had been a great support. T said they were planning to meet up with the two other K brother rape victims, L and H, who gave evidence in 2003. "We are all hoping to catch up and create some sort of support group. I mean, it's easy to talk to each other," she said. "There is no sense of 'they don't believe me' or 'don't understand me', which is really nice. T and X have also written open letters of support to other rape victims. X was relieved when MSK and MMK pleaded guilty because the thought of confronting them was terrifying. T was not spared the trauma. Although new rape trial laws meant she was allowed to use her original videotaped police interview as her evidence in chief, she was rigorously cross-examined by defence lawyers. "It made me very angry," she said. "A girl can be drunk, that doesn't mean anything. They tried to make out, just because I was singing a song, that I was promiscuous." The Daily Telegraph (22-7-2005) Nicolette Casella |
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