British teen, who was sexually assaulted in mass New Year’s Eve attack in Milan gives statement

ROME - What should have been a New Year’s Eve spent watching the fireworks in Piazza del Duomo, for many groups of foreign women in Milan, turned into a horrific mass sexual assault, including a nineteen-year-old British student, according to an interview she gave the MailOnline.
Imogen, who has only been identified by her first name, has shared the story of how her, her two male friends from England and a group of six Belgian students they had met in Italy were attacked in the crowds of people watching the fireworks at the Duomo.
Imogen was quoted by the MailOnline, to whom she gave an interview to dispel some of the 'disinformation' surrounding the incident online and in the Italian media.
"I will not allow my sexual attack to become an opportunity to divide people – it is a moment to unite women, and the people of Italy, in outrage that this was allowed to happen during a joyful celebration," she said to the MailOnline.
She partially waived her right anonymity in order to discuss what she said was her "upset after reading many articles that claim it was a matter of religion, indirectly blaming Islam, whilst claiming our attack was ‘Taharrush Gamea."
'"The evil we experienced that night was the absolute absence of religion."
"Those men had no motive but to take advantage of innocent women, knowing they would escape without suffering the consequences."
"It was not in the name of religion, it was not in the name of political activism, it was an act of vocalised disrespect towards the Italian people and their principles."
The victims have also been blamed by some on social media for ‘provoking’ the attack, which Imogen denounced.
"I dress modestly. I am tall, strong and did not encourage my attackers. Sexual assault is random. We are not to blame and I could never have expected our attack."
ANSA, the state run Italian news agency reported that the men had been identified as being second-generation North African men.
Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of the Interior commented that the investigators are ascertaining whether the violence was born of a strategy similar to ‘taharrush gamea’, which in Arabic is sexual violence towards women from men.
He described the incident as ‘unacceptable’.
Laura Barbier, one of the 20-year-old student Belgian students, told Belgian media that a group of 30 to 40 men became rowdy and started shouting ‘f*** you Italy’ and ‘s*** police’ in Italian before the girls were assaulted.
"That’s when we were touched on our bodies, on our clothes and some of us, including myself, inside our clothes,’" said Barbier according to the MailOnline.
Milanese prosecutors have opened an investigation into the assault of the Belgian students and Imogen reported that she is in the process of filing a judicial denunciation of the alleged assailants via the Italian embassy in England.
The alleged assailents were yet to be arrested.
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