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Five survivors of sexual abuse by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have spoken out about the bond they’ve formed since appearing together on BBC Breakfast in September. Jen, Lindsay, Nicole, Katherine and Gemma had worked for Al Fayed at various points and had all suffered abuse at his hands. Speaking on the programme together and waiving their anonymity was a huge step for all of them, but since that point, they’ve formed a group, calling themselves “Stronger Together”, and supporting each other through their shared trauma.
Speaking to the BBC in Battersea Park, the five women said the group chat they’d set up has given them strength, and that even though some of them only met two months ago, their connection will probably last for the rest of their lives. The women say that their experiences differed in some ways, but that there was a lot of common ground too. They added that their shared trauma meant they didn’t need to keep reliving memories of abuse when they were together, because they just knew what each other were thinking.
The women’s new-found friendship and support for one another would have made Al Fayed “absolutely incandescent with rage”, according to Nicole, who had previously worked as his executive assistant. Al Fayed died last year aged 94, but the women say he deliberately created an environment in which they couldn’t talk to each other or become friends, in order to continue his abuse unchallenged.
Since the five women appeared on TV, over 70 more people have contacted the BBC with accounts of abuse at the hands of Al Fayed, including sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape. The survivors hope that the attention focused on their story will give other victims the strength to speak out
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