Shaparak Khorsandi reveals she was sexually assaulted in public
- Shaparak Khorsandi has written of her "really difficult" two-year ordeal after being sexually assaulted
- The comedian has expressed her frustration with the justice process and that the perpetrator is appealing the verdict
- "It was SO hard to report this offence, knowing impact it might have on my career, the stress of a trial" she said. "But the thought of him thinking what he did was 'normal' and 'just a laugh' became debilitating"
Shaparak Khorsandi has spoken out about being sexually assaulted in public and shared her dismay that the perpetrator has shown no remorse.
The man was found guilty in September and sentenced in October, the comedian has revealed, but is appealing against the verdict.
Posting on Twitter yesterday, she said that it had taken two years to achieve the conviction, during which time she had decided not to waive anonymity, adding: "I felt the law had dealt with him.
"It was the most minor category of sexual assault yet it has been really difficult."
Khorsandi wrote of her frustration with the process and the cost of justice for victims.
"My heart goes out to those who suffer worse and have to see the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] powerless to help because they are so underfunded ... even if you are believed, it comes down to ££. They do not take on cases without being pretty certain of a conviction. What happened to me happened publicly so it was pretty straightforward. I know two people who were raped but CPS, though sympathetic, did not feel there was enough evidence for decent chance of a conviction.
"It was SO hard to report this offence, knowing impact it might have on my career, the stress of a trial. But the thought of him thinking what he did was 'normal' and 'just a laugh' became debilitating."
CPS figures reveal that less than two percent of all rapes end in a police report and ultimate conviction.
Khorsandi added that she "may write about it once its all over but to see up close just how sure they have to be to get a conviction before they prosecute, how it comes done to funding, well it's maddening."
In response to a supportive tweet, hoping for justice for her, she remarked: "What has really upset me is that a conviction did not make him self examine. He still doesn't understand. Scary."
The stand-up has previously revealed incidents of misogynist behaviour and abuse she has experienced in comedy, saying sexual harassment was "endless" for women in the industry.
Speaking to fellow comic Tom Price on his My Mate Bought A Toaster podcast in 2020, she said that groping had been "common" in her early career, and described an incident that had occurred when the 49-year-old was in her early 20s.
After arriving for a set to be greeted by a group of exclusively male acts, she said: "This male comedian went, 'Oh, here she is! I'll get the knife, you get the duct tape. Oi you! Open the boot.'
"And the other comedians rolled their eyes, like 'Oh, what's he like?' Then one guy said to him, 'Mate, steady on'. Then this guy took the mickey out of him for standing up for me.
"I look back on that and just think, so, you walk into a dressing room, some guy makes a joke about putting you in a car boot, and then you're meant to go on the same stage, and do the same job, and make the same audience laugh ..."