Compensation for HIV infection
Donation protected
In July 2015, I was seriously sexually assaulted. The next day, the perpetrator began to taunt me with messages which suggested he might have infected me with HIV. I went to get tested, and discovered this was true. After a lot of agonising, I went to the police. They launched an investigation, which led to the discovery that the man who attacked me had done this to 22 other men at least. The man who attacked me has now been convicted. My story – which led to the other survivors coming forward – can be read here: https://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/edinburgh-police-are-investigating-a-man-suspected-of-exposi?utm_term=.uvkDARDV8#.cfmXn8X65
If this happens to you, as a British person you are legally entitled to £22,000 in compensation. I was planning to use this for therapy, and to compensate for the long periods of time I have struggled to work due to the trauma and stress.
When I applied for my compensation, I was told I was not eligible for it, and would be given nothing. This is because, they explained, I had caried out an act of protest against austerity, which involved interrupting (peacefully, without any violence), a high profile Tory politician's speech. This is technically a criminal offence, but the Tories themselves changed the law in November 2012 so that anybody with an outstanding criminal record of any kind cannot receive compensation for harm that has been done to them.
This has devastated my life and left me unable to rebuild. I am very reluctant to ask people for help – I have trust issues following what happened to me. I am not disclosing my public identity because I don’t want this story to dominate google searches of my name and to define me for the rest of my life: I am determined to recover and to go on to have a good life. My identity and this story have been verified by Buzzfeed.
Any money you can give will be used by me to rebuild my life, and to fight on behalf of other survivors – of sexual assaults, and of Tory cuts. Thank you for anything you can give.
If this happens to you, as a British person you are legally entitled to £22,000 in compensation. I was planning to use this for therapy, and to compensate for the long periods of time I have struggled to work due to the trauma and stress.
When I applied for my compensation, I was told I was not eligible for it, and would be given nothing. This is because, they explained, I had caried out an act of protest against austerity, which involved interrupting (peacefully, without any violence), a high profile Tory politician's speech. This is technically a criminal offence, but the Tories themselves changed the law in November 2012 so that anybody with an outstanding criminal record of any kind cannot receive compensation for harm that has been done to them.
This has devastated my life and left me unable to rebuild. I am very reluctant to ask people for help – I have trust issues following what happened to me. I am not disclosing my public identity because I don’t want this story to dominate google searches of my name and to define me for the rest of my life: I am determined to recover and to go on to have a good life. My identity and this story have been verified by Buzzfeed.
Any money you can give will be used by me to rebuild my life, and to fight on behalf of other survivors – of sexual assaults, and of Tory cuts. Thank you for anything you can give.
Organizer
Matt Buzzfeed
Organizer
