'It Was Implied I Had Staged It': Kerala Sexual Assault Case Survivor

The actor spoke to The News Minute about what she had to go through during the trial.

The survivor in the Kerala actor sexual assault case revealed her identity through an Instagram post in January this year. A few days ago, she also decided to break her silence to the media.

Now, in an interview to The News Minute, the survivor spoke about why she decided to break her silence.

"It wasn't a planned reaction. There were many people who had been telling me for years that I should not keep quiet. I was, however, scared, I did not know if raising my voice against certain things would hamper my case. But when this man (director Balachandrakumar) came out, there was once again a deluge of public support. Perhaps many people had thought this case was settled on the sly. From December onwards there was so much support and love from people, and I decided that it was important to tell everyone how thankful I am. The interview wasn’t planned either; Barkha Dutt approached me to speak on Women’s Day. I was hesitant as I did not know what I can say and what is sub-judice, but I was assured that I need to speak only about my journey. I felt it was time, most people cannot truly fathom what I go through. Which is why I felt I had to share my journey, I knew it would not be easy, but I had to".

Kerala Assault Survivor

She added that the hardest part was that she had to prove her innocence despite being the survivor. "When one goes to court, a person expects they can tell their truth and it will be over. But what happened was not something I had expected at all. Through many of the questions — directly and indirectly — it was implied that I had staged it. I’m sure they are doing their jobs, but the onus is on me to prove my innocence. I struggled, wondering why am I being asked this? Why should I explain? It was not just in court, but outside too people were asking why I went out at that time. In my mind I would ask them a counter question, do you think a woman out at 10 am won’t get assaulted?", the actor told The News Minute.

She further said that for a survivor, having a support system is very important. "Putting up a fight without the support of my husband, family, friends and colleagues is just unimaginable. I don’t know if I would have had the courage without it. When I’m very sad and down, I’m thankful that there are a bunch of people around me telling me not to be sad. They remind me that I’m not wrong, I was wronged. The naysayers or negative people are just 2 or 3%, the rest are those who support me. Also, I have an invisible wall around me. I don’t want to keep track of the case every single day, I have a family and work life beyond that. I do understand that it is solely upon me to deal with the trial, but on the days that I work, I need to focus on that. I have had to tell some people not to send me things related to the trial".

(With inputs from The News Minute)