TW/CW: Sexual and verbal violence.

I first posted this piece back in January of 2017, the same month Donald John Trump was sworn into office as the 45th President of the United States. Since then, the number of his accusers has grown beyond the number noted in the title above.

One of the women who came forward to tell her story in more recent years is journalist and author E. Jean Carroll, who just won a legal victory against Trump in a New York civil court. A three-woman, six-man jury found unanimously that the former president is liable for sexually abusing Ms. Carroll back in the 1990s and for defaming her when she told her story publicly a few years ago. So confident was this jury in its decision that it awarded a $5 million judgment that Trump must pay her.

I am happy for Ms. Carroll and for the many other women who have suffered for years from the trauma that Trump inflicted upon them. They won’t get the justice they deserve, at least not in this lifetime. But I hope they experience a small measure of healing from this verdict, though Trump will likely appeal.

These are courageous women, some of whom I have gotten to know through my past work in the field of sexual violence prevention. They are neither political agents, fame seekers, nor gold diggers. They have endured death threats and rape threats, threats against their families, getting blacklisted for jobs, and having their reputations smeared with lies for telling their stories, and they knew they would. I repost my piece in their honor: