Survivors from Epsin talk about the truth to power – will America listen?

When the step of the perpetrators of sexual crimes, Jeffrey Epstein, they are doing more than their past. It disrupts strength.

Their certificates threaten to reveal the effects of the influence that flourished in silence. Every time one of the survivors speaks publicly – especially if the strong men who were determined as a striker – our culture is forced to be forced at the expense of the deepening of trafficking and sexual violence in the most distinguished classes in society.

This account can be earthquakes.

The accusations against politicians, financiers, or celebrities will ignite a wave of general audit. A long reputation that cannot be prejudiced can collapse. Parallel to Harvey Weinstein is clear: not only the width of a man in the giant Hollywood, but also reshaped about harassment in the workplace across industries.

The Epstein case, however, is wider in size. It is not simply related to predators, but about an alleged network that flourished because institutions seemed in the other direction. A certificate that reveals the aspect of the request from trafficking – men who pay for access to abuse – can reformulate how the public understands sex crimes. Instead of looking at trafficking as a issue that is limited to the mysterious corners of society, the survivors’ disclosure of its relations with the halls of the Board of Directors and the donors in the elite social campaigns and departments.

When the survivors speak, others listen. Research shows that prominent disclosure can encourage victims who may remain silent to progress. For many survivors of assault and trafficking, the vision of Epstein’s victims breaks silence may reduce fear of disbelief or humiliation that often keeps them calm. This can change how sex crimes are reported.

Imagine a system in which the survivors feel that their stories are important, as they trust law enforcement and public prosecutors, and where the attention of the media highlights instead of distortions. It can normalize the testimony of survivors from reporting sex crimes, reducing shame and enhancing accountability within the issue system. But when those who speak, distort a prison or delay, the opposite occurs. Fear and stigma grow. The choice of silence becomes alive.

The media and the legal system bear responsibility: to ensure that the survivors do not punish their courage, but they were enabled.

Social media has provided survivors with unprecedented opportunities to speak publicly. However, these same platforms are filled with conspiracy theories and political manipulation. Epstein has become a weapon for partisan stories, as survivors often sink by speculation about lists, cover -up and mysterious groups.

This fog of wrong information is dangerous. When trafficking is framing with a political conspiracy or a point of discussion in the cultural war, survivors risk becoming pawns in ideological battles instead of recognizing their reliable witnesses. The potential victims of progress, for fear of not believing – or worse, may hesitate that their pain will be kidnapped for the schedule of another person’s business.

The result? silence. Punishment. And deeper erosion of general confidence in justice.

The Ibstin case emerges how the criminal justice system is examined. Often, survivors of sexual violence suffer from secondary abuse when they seek justice – by not believing, invading interrogation or systems that give priority to the institutional reputation for the truth.

If Epstein’s survivors’ courage means more than the main transit titles, real change should be followed.

This begins by training law enforcement in the enlightened shock practices. Officers should be able to recognize the signs of trafficking and conduct interviews in ways that are not shocked by people who are supposed to protect them. Without this training, the system destroys vehicles.

Equally important is to protect the courtroom. Survivors who have made more abuse during legal operations should not face. Shield laws, secret certificates options and fixed presence of victims’ preachers can help the survivors to feel safe and supported.

But justice does not end with the ruling. Survivors need long -term resources, such as stable housing, mental health care and work training, to really rebuild their lives. Otherwise, the regime risks their treatment as nothing more than witnesses for a crime, instead of individuals with permanent needs.

Finally, accountability should reach beyond low -level empowerment factors. The legitimacy of the system depends on its willingness to confront those who have power and wealth who funded, facilitated or turned a blind eye. Until we address each level of collusion, from recruits to billionaires, we risk maintaining the silence that left Epstein’s crimes to flourish.

Survivors from Epstein not only fought because of their own dignity, but for the future of every victim, and they decide whether to move forward tomorrow. Their courage challenges us to answer a basic question: Do we appreciate the truth more than strength?

If they are heard, believed and protected, the survivors of trafficking and rape everywhere will know that the system can work with them. But if they are silent, harassed or rejected, we send a chilling message – that justice is conditional, and that it depends on who your aggressor is.

The world is watching. These survivors have already suffered unimaginable damage. By talking to it, they give us something extraordinary: an opportunity to confront the systems that allowed this damage. The question is whether we are brave enough to listen – and whether our judicial system is ready to act.

Their courage should only inspire us. We must be ashamed to build a system that finally provides the promise of justice.

Catherine Lavary is the head of the Department of Criminal Justice and Security at the Dyson University, Sciences and Sciences at the University of Pies.