‘I’m in a good place’: Nottingham University grad speaks out after Zanzibar acid attack

The University of Nottingham graduate was only 18 when acid was thrown at her in an unprovoked attack in 2018.

Katie Gee, now 29, was volunteering in Zanzibar when two men on a motorbike threw acid at her causing severe burns on the right side of her face and body.

She suffered from 35 per cent burns on her face and severely injured her ear which was “burnt to a crisp”, according to SWNS.

Katie, initially “uncomfortable” with her scars, has had 70 procedures following the attack in 2018. However, she’s since said that she has become “confident” in her scars.

“I remember going out for lunch and bumped into a friend’s sister and she didn’t recognise me.

“Now if someone wants to stare, I will just stare back and make them feel uncomfortable.

“I don’t have any shame anymore. I’m in a good place.”

The Nottingham University graduate also uses TikTok to talk about the attack and spread positive body image messages to women.

via SWNS

Katie, originally from north west London, described the attack when walking down the street in Stone Town in August 2018: “Two men on a motorbike came past. They stopped for half a second.

“I was about to turn to say ‘what do they want?’ and as I was turning back they threw it.

“I tried to wipe my eyes. I tried to read the number plate.

“It started to burn straight away. I wasn’t sure at first if it was a really hot pot of coffee.”

The Nottingham University graduate described the shock when seeing her face in the mirror, which was a “yellow, green colour”.

She said the acid burnt through the hoodie and trousers that she was wearing and severely burnt her left ear which had “burnt off like a crisp”.

Katie spent two and a half months in the burns unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after returning to the UK. She then underwent skin surgeries lasting up to 12 hours in hospital for the following three years.

She found the recovery really hard and described her scars at the beginning as “really red and bumpy”. She also spoke about having to wear a face mask in the day during her recovery.

Katie told SWNS that she underwent surgeries such as having a new eye lid built and an ear reconstruction using cartilage from her ribs and skin from her scalp. She then went on to study sociology at the University of Nottingham and graduated with a 2:1.

Featured images via SWNS

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