Carrie

I’m speaking up because, as a very young woman just starting out in my career and having only just left home for the first time, I was deeply vulnerable and unprepared for what lay ahead. In that context, I lived through four years of unwanted sexual harassment, grooming, and abuse while working at Harrods, perpetrated by Mr Al Fayed and enabled by a culture that allowed this behaviour to continue unchecked for decades. Coming forward is deeply painful, but it feels imperative. I am doing this in solidarity with the many other women who endured similar experiences, often in silence, confusion, and fear. By telling the truth about what really happened, we can support one another, validate survivors’ experiences, and shine a light on how powerful individuals were able to abuse and intimidate young women without accountability. I am also a mother to a daughter who is approaching adulthood, and I would never want her, or any young woman, to enter the world unaware of how grooming, coercion, and abuse can be hidden behind status and power. Campaigns like this matter because they expose the reality of systemic abuse and demand that those who enabled or covered it up are finally held to account. United, survivors can make change. Speaking out is part of how we reclaim our voices, make sense of what happened to us, and ensure the truth is no longer buried.