A woman who was "shocked" and "disgusted" by an attack she said will stay with her for the rest of her life.
Last October, masters student Chloe* (not her real name) was assaulted by a friend who shoved his hands down her trousers before saying she can't tell anyone so as not to ruin his reputation.
The 24-year-old told the ECHO: "I was really shocked and really, really hurt, and it just made me feel a bit disgusting."
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Chloe added: "It really hurt with it coming from a friend and someone that I'd put a lot of time and effort into, into our friendship and helping each other to be better people, and then all of sudden he does this to me.
"That's hard. That's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. And I knew that he could just do that to anybody.
"If he didn't respect me - I'm meant to be a friend, he's meant to care about me - what is he going to do to people that he barely knows?
"What sort of level of respect does he have for other women?"
This isn't the first time Chloe has been assaulted, but it's the first time she's reported it, deciding to pursue the University of Liverpool's disciplinary process instead of reporting her attacker to the police.
Fewer than one in six women and fewer than one in five men report sexual assault by rape or penetration (including attempts) to the police, according to latest estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
That assaults often take place behind closed doors, away from security cameras and eye witnesses, means cases rely on the testimony of each individual, with their memory and character picked apart by police and courts.
Chloe thinks that isn't fair, she said: "When something like that happens to you, it's not the first thing that you're going to think, 'Oh, I need to get evidence so that, if this goes to court, I can prove what I've said is true'.
"That's not what you're thinking in the moment. You're thinking, 'Jesus Christ this horrible thing has happened to me'.
"And it's something that affects people for the rest of their lives."
Chloe hopes the university disciplinary process will bring some sense of justice.
She said: "I just want him to not do this again. I don't necessarily want him to be kicked out.
"I just want him to know that doing that to someone and then saying, 'Don't tell anybody because I don't want my reputation to be ruined', is f*****g disgusting."
But even this has filled Chloe with anxiety as she waits indefinitely for her alleged attacker to submit his response to a disciplinary panel, which will assess the evidence, reach a verdict and determine a possible punishment.
Chloe told the ECHO: "Actually reporting someone for the first time is so scary.
"It just makes me so anxious all the time, not knowing what the result is going to be of the disciplinary.
"And it's something that constantly sits at the back of my mind because I know that he can be on campus whenever he wants, and I'm on campus all the time from 9 to 5, five days a week, so I feel like my base level of anxiety is way, way higher than it needs to be."
Speaking of her panic attacks, she said: "It's just constantly feeling on edge, and then it's building and building and building until I can't control it and start hyperventilating.
"A certain level of paranoia comes with it as well, of feeling like there's something constantly on my chest. It just gets heavier and heavier and then I start feeling sick."
Chloe finds comfort in the knowledge that, for the duration of the disciplinary process, her accused attacker is not allowed to contact her.
Throughout the process, the University of Liverpool has offered her support with mental health and shown her understanding with Christmas deadlines affected by the assault.
She received one counselling session through the university before taking herself to RASA (Rape and Sexual Assault Merseyside). After a previous assault, Chloe said the university had made the referral to RASA for her.
Chloe urges people to "definitely report what happened to you" because that allows them to access support from universities and friends, and will let perpetrators know that their actions have consequences.
A University of Liverpool spokesperson said: "We are absolutely committed to supporting survivors of sexual violence and would encourage any student who has experienced sexual assault or rape to speak to us or to the police. We will always work with survivors to provide highly tailored support throughout the process.
"We have made it easier for anyone who has experienced sexual assault or abuse to report it to us with a new reporting tool, launched in October 2020, and we work with survivors to identify which process they want to follow, respecting their right to choose their preferred next steps.
"Where a university disciplinary investigation is opted for, we have appointed a specialist investigator to examine allegations of sexual misconduct and have very serious sanctions in place.
"The investigations themselves are often complex and can sometimes require interviews with a significant number of witnesses. Where this is the case, we keep all parties regularly informed of progress and next steps.
"Specially trained staff support survivors of sexual assault, providing carefully tailored counselling and wellbeing support.
"Counsellors work with survivors to assess their individual needs and provide additional support or refer on to other services.
"Under our current processes, reporting students are provided with a named contact within our wellbeing team so they are supported throughout any police or internal investigation.
"Students experiencing difficulties with their academic studies are encouraged to talk to their wellbeing contact or an appropriate person within their School.
"They will be guided on the various options and support available to them and this will always be done on an individual basis."
Merseyside Police's Superintendent Diane Pownall said: "We are clear that violence and intimidation against women and girls is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.
"Alongside our partners across the city, including our universities, we are working to drive behavioural change to empower women and girls to live their lives without fear of abuse.
"We have specialist officers working across the education sector in the city, including dedicated university officers at University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores.
"We also hold regular student safety groups where we meet with representatives from all universities to understand crime affecting students, including working together to prevent sexual violence
"In April 2021, we launched Operation Empower, our proactive policing response to preventing sexual violence in the Night Time Economy.
"We deploy additional officers, in key locations on busy nights or at important events, who are tasked with identifying potential perpetrators who are displaying signs of predatory behaviour such as loitering without good reason, or giving or approaching females with unwanted attention.
"Bystander training has also been given to licensed premises and other partners, such as taxi drivers to help members of staff identify individuals and officers are also asked to be aware of anyone who may present as vulnerable and consider any immediate safeguarding concerns.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to reassure anyone who has suffered a sexual offence that, if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us, we will deal with your case sensitively and make sure that your report is properly and thoroughly investigated.
"There is no time limit for reporting this type of crime and we take every report extremely seriously."
Report a sexual offence allegation by calling 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers. Don’t forget, reports that are not urgent can be made via @MerPolCC on Twitter or 'Merseyside Police Contact Centre' on Facebook. Always call 999 in an emergency.
Support for victims is also available through the registered charity the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre Cheshire and Merseyside, who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063 or Rape and Sexual Assault Merseyside (RASA) on 0151 558 1801.
If something has happened to you or someone you know (including in public spaces online) you can call Merseyside Police on 101 or report online.
If you're unsure whether something is a crime or not, read our advice.
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