Rise up

Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash

They paused each time there was a plane overhead, continuing to tell their stories of abuse between flyovers. During a two hour news conference, 9 women who were sexually abused as children by Jeffrey Epstein and his enablers shared details of their awful experiences. These women, along with other survivors, continue to show incredible bravery, even as their stories are dismissed and buried. And lets not forget that not all of them survived what they endured. As they recounted how Epstein and his powerful friends abused them, Jess Michaels reminded everyone, “Justice and accountability are not favors from the powerful. They are obligations decades overdue." 

All 212 Democrats and just four Republicans from the House of Representative have signed the discharge petition to compel the Justice Department to release all of the Epstein files. The cowardice of the remaining Republicans speaks volumes: they support predators. They do not believe women. 

Every 74 seconds, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. Every nine minutes, that someone is a child (DOJ survey 2019-22). 98% of perpetrators are not punished. We wish that the lack of accountability was shocking, but impunity is par for the course, especially when it comes to people in power. 

We stand with all survivors.  We believe women. 

And no, science is not immune. Sexual harassment and abuse (and misogyny, discrimination, assault, and bullying) are so rampant that there is a whole National Academies of Science report on the topic. 

Accountability must start in our home institutions. Accountability must start with us.


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🙃 Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Remember this when the worst people in the world are saying something that makes a little bit of sense.