"The unshakeable bond between Laura Hughes and Lauren Preston, both 45, and Mary Sharp, 58, came about for the saddest reason all three were raped and abused by Martin Butler, a manipulative drug dealer on their estate in London who groomed and coerced them decades ago."
"At his trial, Preston and Hughes provided bad character evidence as part of the prosecution case against him, about the grooming, rape and abuse they suffered from him in the mid-90s. He was subsequently convicted of the historic rape of an unidentified teenage victim, after a separate trial last year."
"More rape survivors are speaking about their ordeals now, with some, like Sharp, Hughes and Preston, waiving their right to anonymity. When Gisele Pelicot went public about the multiple drugged rapes she endured, she said she was doing so in the hope of bringing about changes in society, adding that shame has to change sides in rape cases."
"closure and healing is not straightforward. As Preston, Sharp and Hughes"
Three women in their 40s and 50s share a close, non-biological bond and refer to one another as “the girls” through a WhatsApp group called Sister Solidarity. Laura Hughes, Lauren Preston, and Mary Sharp became connected after all were raped and abused by Martin Butler, a manipulative drug dealer who groomed and coerced them decades earlier on their London estate. Butler is serving a lengthy sentence for the rape and buggery of Sharp in 1988. During his trial, Preston and Hughes provided bad character evidence about the grooming, rape, and abuse they suffered in the mid-1990s. Butler was later convicted of historic rape of an unidentified teenage victim. More survivors are speaking publicly, including Sharp, Hughes, and Preston, and Gisele Pelicot, aiming to shift shame and support change, while healing remains complex.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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