To the woman we are all standing up for- I have a letter for YOU.
I’ve been reading endless articles written about this horrific case you are at the center of, and I have felt intense anguish and anger about the injustice around the vulgar and vicious act done to you. And in all this news and the rage lashed out on your perpetrator and his father, I’m afraid the attention has been lost on the one person who matters most. YOU.
I want you to know that we hear you. Millions of women have echoed your voice out to the world. Your voice that was stifled and dismissed by the people who needed to hear it most. But WE hear it. And in the past few days, we have echoed it loud and clear.
You are HEARD.
We stand up for you.
We cry for you.
We mourn for you.
We rage for you.
We fight for you.
We speak for you.
We write for you.
We – ARE you.
You see, many women have experienced similar horrific circumstances and their wounds have cracked open, their hearts have heard the call, and they are ALL magnifying your voice.
And in doing so, they have found theirs.
Do you hear their voices?
You have given THEM the power to have a voice, when they too, did not.
You have unleashed the passion and the fury that lies in every woman, wanting to be safe and be treated fairly and respectfully. You have ignited the cause and set fire to our hearts to make this right, to make him pay for what he’s done, since the judge did not. And you have set off alarms everywhere, drawing significant attention to the rape culture on college campuses, where change MUST be made to stop the incessant assaults on innocent women.
You have an army of women behind you. Do you hear them putting a loud speaker to your voice? Do you hear their voices? They have come out to shout for you.
And for them.
You have given them a chance to be heard.
Because you were courageous enough to write and read that letter, you opened doors to secret corners in many women’s lives. In your fight, you have inspired other women to be strengthened to fight too. I have witnessed women coming forward sharing their experiences in being raped- with trembling hands they write about this traumatic memory that had been hidden inside them for years. These women have been empowered by you, to finally stand and speak and not be afraid, to not be alone, to not feel broken any longer.
You have taught them how to speak up, hold power, and fight- after not having the chance when they needed it most.
In all the pain and publicity and sickening horror and humility- do you see how YOU have given POWER to the victims, the vulnerable, the wounded, the fragile, and the scared women who so desperately needed someone to come forward, to help them stand, and to unite us all to band together in strength to call out the sick twisted violators who have not been named and accounted for?
I want you to know that I think about you all the time. I think about you much more than I think about him. I hurt for you, and I cannot imagine what you must be going through as I picture you watching this all unfold from the corner of your crushing world.
I so desperately want you to know that you are the heroine in this story. I want you to know that you are among a multitude of women who didn’t deserve what happened to you.
We all think you are amazing.
You have a world full of sisters behind you.
You have made a difference in the lives of many, and well- that is something pretty magnificent that came out of this tragic situation.
If you ever feel weak, less than, broken, worn, small, shameful, sick, or dead inside…
Please oh please, remember you- YOU- helped other women feel strong, worthy, whole, inspired, powerful, dignified, well, and alive inside once again…
By giving them a voice.
Thank you, for that.
You are so incredibly important to us all.
You may have lost that fight, but oh did you win.
We will continue to stand with you, for you-
And for us all.
Aw, beautifully said Chris and yes will stand behind all these women indeed now and in the future, too.
Thank you Janine. Yes- we must stand by them and for them all. <3
Amen, Chris. Wonderful words of support.
I was struck by your words “drawing significant attention” as it was true in my house. I had a meaningful talk with my 12yo son about all this. It was hard, because he is still young, but I kept thinking if only the father of the perpetrator had had such a talk with his own son when he was 12.
Yes Katy! And it seems this was not a valuable principle to teach his son. Makes me angry and I too, will be addressing it REGULARLY with my son- and daughter for that matter.
As one of those women whose case was swept under the rug years ago — I found it impossible to finish reading her letter. But I believe it needs shared, and we all need to stand behind her. May her voice be heard and may college assaults be taken as what they are — assaults.
Oh my friend- you among so many have declared such truth and my heart breaks for you and all the other women who have been ‘swept under the rug’. I’m so so sorry you had to endure such a trauma too. I pray you have somehow healed as best as you can, since that devastating experience. I fear so many women haven’t even voiced their experiences- still hiding their pain. My heart aches for them too. It’s all horrible.
Amen, Chris. I’d rather focus all of my energies on HER. And also to the two men who found her and made the call and felt deep feelings about it.
Yes- I think about those two men as well! They were crying- that’s how deeply they felt about the scene they came upon. I just can’t even imagine the horror enough to make two grown men cry. Thank God they were there.
Such a beautiful letter Christine! I hope she’s doing better knowing that we’re all behind her and praying for her recovery.
I do too, Manal. I hope she has a tribe of trusted friends who can walk alongside her through healing and becoming whole again. Thank you for your support in this letter, dear friend. <3
Oh Chris. Only you can say this so well. I have chills running up my spine..she speaks for all of us who in one way or another have been victims of emotional sexual physical rape abuse harassment undermining. You do so right too honor her and lift her from misogyny lies injustice and re-victimization in the court. She will prevail ..we will prevail. We stand by her side!
And there are SO many who have been affected by all those things you described- countless women who have no voice- or feel they have no choice. This woman speaks for them all- for us all. I’m not sure there is a woman who HASN’T experienced something similar to what you shared. Thank you so so much for your support in my attempt to honor her. XOXO
****You have a world full of sisters behind you.***
We. Stand. UNITED.
And say, “NO More. NO MORE. NO MORE.”
thank you for your voice, Chris. xxxx
And thank YOU for yours. There are many who stand. And sadly, many who we stand for.
THIS! Christine, I was just saying this last night. We need to realize the most important thing here is the woman in this case.
There is going to be some trauma for her, especially once the publicity dies down. PTSD will set in and life will forever be different.
Thank you for writing this, thank you so much <3.
I can’t even imagine the road she has to travel ahead… I know you can, dear friend. It grieves me so, to know there are many who are forced on this torturing path. Having your support with this letter, means SO much. Coming from you, I feel at peace about writing it- I worried it wasn’t enough or perhaps would be misunderstood in some way. THANK YOU for your validation and for being one of those STRONG VOICES who stand with her and for her.
Thank YOU for writing this to her. It’s so important that she knows what she did will change lives.
I hope and pray someone she trusts tells her these things. She has started a wildfire of fierce voices fighting for her, and those same voices are empowered because of her.
What an encouraging (and truth-filled) post to one who speaks up, shares her voice. She may never know how many she will impact by speaking up. Whenever speaking out we need to come together as an army, small or large, with our armor of righteousness. Thanks for being a soldier, Chris!
Her courage and her tragic experience deserve both support and validation. I pray she feels her army behind her, filled with passionate women who HEAR her voice and are empowered to share theirs.
Chris, this gave me goosebumps, I sure hope she gets to read this. It’s incredible and my sentiments exactly!
I hope she does too, but if not- I REALLY hope her trusted friends are telling her similar things. Thanks for reading this and echoing her voice too, my friend.
Oh my goodness, this: “I so desperately want you to know that you are the heroine in this story. I want you to know that you are among a multitude of women who didn’t deserve what happened to you.”
You have such a powerful and passionate way of turning the focus around, my sweet friend! I can hear you screaming on her behalf! What a beautiful piece! I hope it somehow makes it to her! Just the best! Much love to you and that big ole heart you carry around! I’m honored to know a piece of it! <3
And I am honored – so incredibly honored to know a piece of your heart too, my dear friend.
I hope and pray she understands how important her voice is to ALL women. And that she is HEARD.
I’m tearing up reading this. I’ve been wondering over the last few days if she knew, if she knew how many people were affected by her story. And that her letter has been read and used as a symbol of solidarity for so many women. I hope she knows. I hope that she sees all the blog posts and the tweets and the FaceBook posts that are holding her up as a hero. Thank you so much for this Chris, you said it beautifully.
Thank YOU for your incredible support with this letter, Gretchen. And yes- oh yes… I hope she sees and feels the support all around the world. I truly hope she knows how incredibly valuable her voice is to us all.
Argh, this case makes me so stinking mad, I think I just actually spit on my keyboard. God bless this amazing woman, and I hope she does know how much she has done for women all over the world. Did you read her statement?! So powerful.
I did. And yes, so so powerful. I can’t help but wonder how many more cases have concluded in this same way… Or how many didn’t even make it to court. Or how many weren’t even revealed at all.
Yes, THIS. This is amazing and wonderful and so very RIGHT. So much love for these words and for you Chris. I hope she reads it. <3
I wish she would read this, but I hope her closeest and most trusted friends share similar thoughts with her- I’m sure she would be comforted by them even more.
I can’t imagine what it’s like, being her, throughout all this. I just can’t. What a world.
I can’t imagine either, Kerry. I just hope and pray she has a tribe of friends carrying her and telling her these things. I hope and pray she knows how valuable she is to us all.
Amen. And the world’s become even scarier since you posted this. We have to keep shining a light in the darkness. You are always that light, Chris.
As are YOU, Dana. I’m so grateful for the many lights that shine amidst such a dark and scary world.
Well said, Chris. And sad that we even have to say it.
Very dad indeed Lisa. I appreciate you reading this and echoing her voice too. <3
I hope the power of the internet God bring this post to her. I’ve also been unable to stop thinking about her. And I fear I want to home school my kids for college.