The meeting: Jo’s story – Surviving rape

…Nearly four years later, in 2009 I heard that Darren had agreed to meet me. There were lots of preparation meetings with the RJ workers over the next nine months, and some of it was emotionally exhausting, but I knew it was something I had to do. The meeting took place at the end of January 2010. I wasn’t nervous beforehand as I had waited so long, and I’d made sure I didn’t have any expectations, so I couldn’t be disappointed.

When I walked in our eyes met straight away. He looked a lot older, but still looked like a child as well. I started by thanking him for agreeing to meet me as I knew it must have been a difficult thing to do. I asked why he had agreed to meet me and he said “I did something really bad and now I can do something good.”

Then I went straight into telling him what it had been like for me on the day of the rape, how scared I had been and that I thought he was going to kill me. I went through every detail of the attack from start to finish. I could see the impact that what I was saying was having on him. As I told him the impact of the offence, the terror and confusion I felt that day, he actually cried, and I could see it was genuine. I could see for myself he found it really hard, but he listened to everything I had to say, and didn’t try to make any excuses. He heard it from me that day, what he’d done to me, not from someone else saying how I might feel. I think if they hear it from the victim themselves they get a much better understanding.

…As the meeting was finishing I was asked if there was anything else I wanted to say, and I gave him what has I’ve later come to think of as ‘a gift’. I said to him “What I am about to say to you a lot of people would find hard to understand, but I forgive you for what you did to me. Hatred just eats you up and I want you to go on and have a successful life. If you haven’t already forgiven yourself, then I hope in the future you will.” I didn’t say it to excuse what he did, or to minimize it, but because I wanted myself to be free of that burden of grievance, and as importantly for me, I hoped Darren could learn, move on, and forgive himself.

This had a massive impact on Darren – I could see he was shaken by the parting ‘gift’ I had given him. As I was leaving I wished him good luck for the future. His step mum who was there with him looked at me and just said “Thank you”.

As I left that room I felt on top of the world. Meeting him gave me closure, because I had said everything I had wanted to say and I had taken back some kind of control over my life. I know it had an impact on him. I’m not a victim any more, I’m a survivor. I’ve been able to make sure something good has come out of something bad.

Read the full story and  listen to Jo tell her story. 

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