Virginia’s Gone
Virginia Giuffre is dead by suicide. These would-be great united states failed her - and everyone survivor who couldn't continue in the struggle that is survival.
A survivor of one of the most high-profile sexual abuse networks in modern history, Virginia fought hard not just for herself, but for the countless unseen and unheard victims trapped in silence. She didn’t weaponize her pain. She didn’t turn bitter. She used her brokenness to try to heal others. And now she’s gone.
This is not just a personal tragedy. This is a national indictment.
What Happened: Virginia’s death is a brutal reminder that survival isn’t the end of suffering.
Living every day after trauma is its own special blend of war. Some make it. Some don’t.
Virginia spent years battling powerful forces who tried to erase her, discredit her, and wear her down. Even when she won court settlements and public apologies, the deeper battle - the invisible one inside her - never ended. And now, quietly and painfully, it has ended her.
Bigger Truth: Sexual abuse survivors face some of the highest suicide risks of any group. When you look at the data, the picture gets even darker:
• Suicide Attempt Rates are estimated to be 7 to 13 times higher among survivors of child sexual abuse compared to the general population.
• According to the CDC, people who experience sexual violence are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts.
• Over 30% of sexual abuse survivors report suicidal ideation at some point in their lives.
• Survivors are more likely to suffer from severe depression, PTSD, and substance use disorders - all strong predictors of suicide.
Virginia’s death is part of a sickening pattern - one these would-be great united states still refuse to properly address.
Why It Matters: We tell survivors to “stay strong” without making sure the world is safe enough for them to actually survive in. We expect them to heal from invisible wounds without giving them the care they need. Supports are out there, and sometimes when you reach out those supports are insufficient, inappropriate, inaccessible, overwhelmed, invalidating, conditional, or performative.
The worst part? Most of us don’t know how people around us are really feeling. And sometimes, they don’t really know themselves.
Pain can present in disguises: smiles, activism, helping others, carrying on. Virginia spent her time trying to help others - not out of hate, not out of bitterness, but out of a deep, heartbreaking hope that maybe she could make the world a little less cruel than it had been to her.
She deserved more time. She deserved better from these would-be great united states - and so do countless others still carrying wounds no one can see, hear, feel, or begin to understand.
Virginia Giuffre’s death is a catastrophic loss.
Not just for the people who loved her, but for a country that once again stood by and watched a survivor drown in the aftermath of abuse.
She fought harder than most people ever will. She chose kindness instead of cruelty. And still - we failed her.
We can’t fix this. Still, we can damn sure do better.
For Virginia. For the ones still here. For the ones who can’t be.