❤️HER NAME IS VIRGINIA GIUFFRE! ❤️
This photo was taken 24 years ago. It is one of the world’s most iconic images. The young woman in the photo held a prince to account.
On Friday, the young woman in the image died by suicide. Her name is Virginia Guiffre.
She was – and always will be – a fierce warrior for those of us who survived rape or sexual assault – and for those who could never overcome the pain of this trauma.
Virginia was raped and trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein and was sexually abused by Prince Andrew.
She was a teenager when Epstein and his co-accused Ghislaine Maxwell kept Virginia ‘on call for sexual purposes’, ‘lending’ her to powerful men. One being the prince.
“This is not some sordid sex story. This is a story of being trafficked. This is a story of abuse and this is a story of your guys’ royalty,” she told BBC Panorama in 2019.
Three years after that interview – in 2022 – Virginia settled a civil case against the prince. The deal meant he never went to trial.
She recalled the years of abuse as a “wicked” and “really scary” time.
The prince continually denied it but Virginia said: “He knows what happened. I know what happened. And there’s only one of us telling the truth.”
The link between suicide, self-harm and sexual violence is rarely talked about – and yet thousands of women experience this daily in Australia.
One-third of women who survive rape and/or sexual assault contemplate suicide while 13% will try to end their own lives.
Virginia spent many years advocating for – and championing – victims of sexual violence.
‘Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,’ lawyer Sigrid McCawley said.
‘The world has lost an amazing human being today.’
Virginia lived on a farm in Western Australia and was mum to three children and many animals.
‘She was the light that lifted so many survivors,’ her family said in a statement.
‘Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure.’
VIRGINIA GIUFFRE MATTERS!❤️
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