Martyna Ogonowska was just 18 when she was convicted of the murder of Filip Jaskiewicz in 2019. She stabbed him once in the chest as he was sexually assaulting her. Her case raises serious questions about whether prosecutors are following their own guidance on rape myths when an alleged victim becomes a defendant, and this week, Martyna will ask the court of appeal to grant her permission to appeal against her conviction.
At her trial for murder, Martyna’s defence team relied on her allegation that she had been a victim of rape by an older man when she was aged just 14. They argued that this incident had caused her significant post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which made her hypervigilant in response to triggers, such as the sexual assault by Jaskiewicz. Martyna had reported the incident to the police, but no one was charged.
