Nearly 400 women have now levelled assault allegations against Mohamed Al-Fayed
'It’s no longer only about Harrods,' said lawyer on extent of former owner’s abuses
Three alleged sexual assault victims of Mohamed Al-Fayed stood before a room of international media in London on Thursday.
The trio posed for photographers, each sporting the classic khaki Harrods tote bag — but with the iconic British store's logo crossed out.
They are among more than 400 people who have come forward to the Justice for Harrods Survivors group to lodge complaints against the deceased business magnate, in what lawyer Bruce Drummond has called "industrial-scale abuse."
Of the 421 people who have come forward with complaints against Al-Fayed, 25 are not victims but witnesses.
CBC News has learned at least four of the women are either Canadian citizens or residents, while the rest come predominantly from the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere in Europe.
The volume of victims who have made themselves known to the legal support group has grown tenfold in a matter of weeks, as employees of Al-Fayed's other business ventures have come forward.
"It's no longer only about Harrods," said Dean Armstrong, one of three lawyers on the pro bono legal team seeking retribution on behalf of the survivors.
'You're no longer alone'
Armstrong said the Fulham Football Club women's team and the Al-Fayed estate now join the iconic London department store as environments that enabled the systemic, repeated abuse of hundreds of women and girls, some as young as 15.
"You are no longer alone," Armstrong said, speaking to the eight survivors present at the news conference, and the countless more believed to be watching remotely.
Former Fulham FC captain Ronnie Gibbons, who shared her story with The Athletic in mid-October, sent a video message.
"As difficult as it's been, it's been very empowering," Gibbons said via recorded video, referring to her experience opening up about instances in which she was forcibly groped and kissed by Al-Fayed during her tenure as captain of the London-based team. Gibbons was 20 years old at the time of the alleged assaults. Al-Fayed was 71.
"I know that by speaking out, we are making it harder for this kind of behaviour to be tolerated anywhere. I know we are making it easier for others to speak up. I wish I had the same support system when I went through what I did. I'm a parent now. One of the main reasons I'm doing this is to make a better world for my child and future generations," Gibbons said.
Armstrong said Gibbons was one of innumerable victims who supposedly went to the police following their attacks, but were not given the support they deserved.
"Our survivors have been thoroughly let down by society," he said.
Between 2005 and 2023, London's Metropolitan Police received 21 separate allegations against Al-Fayed, according to an online statement. Only two of these were said to have had sufficient evidence, although no charges were brought by prosecutors.
Armstrong said intimidation tactics by Al-Fayed's staff, as well as active efforts to silence any negative media coverage of the billionaire, contributed to a culture that left these women and girls feeling as if "there was nowhere to go."
CBC News reached out to Harrods for comment. The company did not respond specifically to today's developments, but in a previous statement said it was "utterly appalled by the allegations of abuse" and that the business had failed its employees.
'I still feel that shame today'
Lindsay, one of the three Harrods bag-toting survivors who was comfortable speaking on camera, told CBC News the community she and her fellow survivors have formed helps to "make sense" of their shared trauma from decades ago.
"We buried it so deep, so it's been quite a journey to bring it all back to the fore and face, as adults for the first time, what really happened to us on such a huge scale," said Lindsay, who would not share her last name. She says she was 20 when Al-Fayed abused her.
She stood shoulder to shoulder with former co-worker Jen, who also did not want to share her last name. Jen said she was "deeply ashamed" of what happened to her when she was 16.
"I still feel that shame today and I think being able to speak publicly is part of that healing process," Jen said.
Al-Fayed died in August 2023, at the age of 94.
Jen said personal justice cannot be carried out for the hundreds victimized by Al-Fayed's "tentacles," since he is no longer alive.
"We can't hold him personally to account anymore. But what we can do is make sure that the world knows the truth about him. And I think we've done that now … we've been able to alert the world to the monster that he was," Jen said.
The legal team supporting Al-Fayed's alleged victims plans to submit claims to the court for each of the survivors in their group. The first letter of claim was submitted on Oct. 31, said Armstrong, adding that it will be the first of hundreds.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
