Warning: The following content contains references to sexual assault and misconduct that some readers could find distressing.
Carrie Johnson, a victim of 'black cab rapist' John Worboys, has praised the ITV series Believe Me, for allowing more women targeted by the serial sex attacker to come forward.
The four-part drama tells the story of two women assaulted by Worboys, and the ways in which they were failed by the justice system.
Worboys would lure women into his taxi late at night, pretending to have just won a large sum of money. He would then offer them celebratory drinks that he had laced with drugs.
The two survivors depicted in Believe Me were eventually joined in their campaign for justice by Carrie Johnson, wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was once targeted by Worboys in 2007, but managed to escape.
Speaking to exclusively to Good Morning Britain about her ordeal, Carrie shares how vital the series has been for allowing more victims of Worboys to get support.
"More women are coming forward," she says, adding, "And this might help keep him behind bars." The 68-year-old is currently serving a life sentence, and has recently been refused parole as he "continues to represent a high risk of committing further serious sexual offences upon women".
Carrie says the positive impact of the series doesn't just extend to more women being given space to come forward, but is also "a wake up call" for the "police, CPS and parole board."
"The way the girls were treated by police is really shocking," Carrie says, adding, "If they'd done their jobs in the way you'd expect them to do their jobs, Worboys would have been arrested far sooner."
"It's the trauma of not being believed," Carrie says, continuing to share the story of her "lucky escape" from the attacker.
"I was 19-years-old and in Chelsea after a night out," she shares. Carrie explains that she was waiting for a night bus home and Worboys approached her asking if she wanted a lift - she declined because she didn't have enough money.
He offered to take her home for free, claiming her house was on his way home. He then showed her some money he'd "won at a casino" and asked her to celebrate with him, offering her a glass of champagne.
"I didn't want a drink, I was tired and just wanted to go home," Carrie recalls. She poured it away when he wasn't looking, and he later offered her some vodka.
She found his behaviour "weird," and remembers Worboys being "tedious" in persistently offering her drinks that she now knows would've been spiked.
"I reluctantly drank some vodka on the promise he would take me home," she says. Fortunately, she was still "OK" when she arrived home, and was able to get out of the cab safely.
Worboys offered her his number, which Carrie says "later came in useful because it was one of the key pieces of evidence to convict him."
She didn't immediately report her experience, and it wasn't until she read a newspaper article about Worboys and realised her experience aligned with those described by other victims, that she contacted police.
Carrie was later pivotal in "changing the law for good," with her campaign involving two other victims. "Parole board hearings are now not as secretive," she shares, explaining that victims are now more involved in the process and informed about outcomes because of permanent changes to the law.
If you have been affected by anything in this article, Rape Crisis offers support for those impacted by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland.
