I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.
I am a survivor of sexual assault.
I am a survivor of military sexual trauma.
Those are facts about my life.
They are not invitations to ask me for the details.
I am choosing to say them publicly because somewhere right now, another survivor is deciding whether what happened to them “counts.” Someone is wondering whether they are the only one. Someone is watching what is happening to Jane Doe and learning, yet again, what can happen when a survivor speaks.
And somewhere, people are trying to take away one survivor’s choice about whether her identity becomes public at all.
No.
She gets to decide.
Every survivor gets to decide.
Speaking about my history does not mean another survivor owes you theirs. My willingness to name what happened to me does not make Jane Doe’s anonymity suspicious. And her choice to remain anonymous does not make her story less deserving of being heard.
I can choose visibility while defending her right to privacy.
Both are survivor autonomy.
I am Jane Doe.
#IAmJaneDoe