Backpacker's brave vow after rape and kidnap in Aussie outback
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: A British backpacker who was kidnapped and raped in Australia by a gunman is determined to come back to live her dream life.
In 2017, Elisha Greer was held captive for days by Marcus Martin, who she said beat her and held a gun to her head.
She was eventually found by police near Mitchell, 400km west of Brisbane, and taken to hospital and treated for injuries including facial fractures.
Martin pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one count of deprivation of liberty and was jailed for 10 years in 2019.
Backpacker plans on returning to Australia
Despite the fact Martin will eventually be released, Ms Greer says she still hopes to return to Australia one day.
“I’m not going to be broken and my life won’t be defined by what he’s done," she told the Daily Mirror.
“I’ve always wanted to live in Australia and I’m going to do it. He’ll be free one day but I’m not afraid of him. I won’t let him rule my life.”
In an interview with the Seven Network in 2019, Ms Greer said Australia was "one of the nicest countries" and expressed her desire to live there again.
Speaking to the Mirror she explained she believes there is a "better lifestyle" waiting for her in Australia.
"Just because someone has hurt you, you can’t dwell on it for the rest of your life," she said.
"I can cry whenever I want but it doesn’t have to affect me all the time and that’s what I’d like people to take away from this.”
Backpacker turned to alcohol to cope
In the exclusive interview with the Mirror, she also admitted when she returned home to Liverpool she turned to alcohol to deal with her struggles.
Ms Greer said she met Martin at a party in Cairns in January 2017 and he "seemed like a nice guy".
After the pair exchanged numbers, Martin moved into Ms Greer's hotel and began asking her for money.
He then obtained a gun for “protection” and took her along with him to rob a drug dealer, he threw away her birth control pills and tried to get her pregnant.
While Martin repeatedly abused Ms Greer, he also told her they were meant to be together and thought he was going to return to the UK with her.
In addition to all Ms Greer has had to go through at the hands of Martin, she still gets disturbing messages from "creepy" men on social media, she told the Mirror.
She says she had to learn how to ignore them.
Since the horrific ordeal in the Australian outback, she has had two relationships in the UK, both ending because her partners were unfaithful, which has only made it harder for Ms Greer to trust people.
“Nobody can stop you from living your life and, yes, you can be upset about it – sometimes I get depressed for days and the time around the anniversary is hard – but mostly I just get on with it," she told the Mirror.
with AAP
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