"I made my way to the rally, knowing how sexual abusers almost always remain protected and unaccountable, whether in the family in cases of incest abuse or other forms of child sexual abuse, or in national institutions. Abusers often suffer few if any consequences for actions and choices they've made, while those victimized live with lifelong physical, emotional, and psychological consequences."
"Surrounded by hundreds of other sexual abuse survivors and allies, anyone paying attention could see the power exuded from the survivors of Epstein sharing their stories publicly. As a survivor and a researcher who studies the impacts of disclosure on sexual violence survivors, I witnessed so many of the benefits transpiring at this rally: Naming what was done to us takes back our power. Naming who abused us takes back our power. Refusing to keep secrets and refusing to be silent"
On September 3, 2025, attendance at a rally and press conference by survivors of Epstein and accomplices centered survivor testimony and solidarity. Early life conditioning erased agency and normalized lack of consent, enabling familial sexual abuse and long-lasting harm. Perpetrators frequently remain protected and unaccountable by families and institutions while survivors endure lifelong physical, emotional, and psychological consequences. Public disclosure by survivors reclaimed power and agency, demonstrated communal strength, and produced benefits including naming harms, identifying abusers, and rejecting secrecy. The moral and practical responsibility to hold abusers accountable should not be placed on survivors, especially when people in power enable abuse.
Read at Psychology Today
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