What would happen if we believed the first victim to come forward? If we took immediate action? 

We are once again in the middle of a frenzied media cycle around the partial release of the Epstein Files. There’s nonstop attention on decades-long abuse, exploitation, and rapes of an unfathomable number of girls and young women by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the wealthy and powerful individuals who associated with them.  

For those of us committed to combatting sexual violence against women, we are asked our thoughts on this particular case as if it is an isolated incident.  

It is not isolated. It is yet another example of how our systems and society do not believe women and girls. In not believing, we fail.  

Jeffrey Epstein was first reported to law enforcement in 1996.  It would be 2008 before a conviction was secured related to sexual abuse of a minor. This conviction resulted in a mere 18-month sentence during which he was allowed to serve the time on work release. His subsequent travels were not curtailed despite his being a registered sex offender. It would be another 11 years before Epstein was again arrested and significant action was taken. By this time, 23 years had passed since the initial report, and the number of victims is estimated to exceed 1,000 girls and young women.  

What would have happened if we had believed the first victim to come forward? If we had taken immediate action? 

We will never know. What we do know is that failure to believe - and act - resulted in years of continued abuse of hundreds of victims.  

This case is not unique. It is merely the current example of what happens when we fail to believe women and girls. When we fail to act. It is yet another example of the magnitude of harm that occurs when predators go unchecked because of their power, status, or wealth. 

R. Kelly’s predatory behavior against teenage girls first became known in 1994. It would take 27 years before his eventual conviction.  There have been 10 victims who have come forward with many of them asserting they witnessed abuse of additional victims.  

The first efforts to hold Bill Cosby accountable started in 2004 and opened a floodgate of accusations of drugging and rape going back to 1969. By the time of his trial in 2018, 60 women had come forward asserting they were drugged and assaulted by Cosby over a 35 year period.  

While civil and criminal complaints against Sean Combs were filed in 2023, subsequent accusations allege that his history of abuse and exploitation started in 1990 when he was an intern at a music studio. As of December 2025, more than 60 women (and a similar number of men) have indicated abuse or exploitation by Combs.  

Harvey Weinstein first entered into a civil settlement for sexual assault accusations in 1990. It would be 27 years before media articles would be published detailing decades of predatory assaults leading to investigation and prosecution in 2020. By the time of his eventual conviction, more than 80 victims had come forward and dozens of women’s careers had been ruined.  

Reports of Larry Nassar’s abuse of athletes were first made at Michigan State University in 1997. There would be multiple reports to MSU staff and coaches that were not acted upon and a report to the FBI in 2015 that was not pursued for another year. In the 20 years between the first report and his conviction, Nassar abused more than 500 girls and women. 

We share the outrage so many are experiencing, and we must remember that outrage is an emotion – not an action. Without action, there is no substantial change. Without change, there will be another story. There will be more victims. 

Believing is an action.  

As a community and society, the most important act we can take to stop violence is to believe the victims when they come forward. The act of believing is essential to stopping predators before they harm others and dismantle the systems that enable their continued abuse.  

Without action, the cycle will continue.  

Act today. Educate yourself about sexual assault, consent, healthy relationships, and sexual exploitation and trafficking. Talk to your children and the kids you care about regarding healthy relationships, consent, and red flags of predatory behavior. Ensure the people you care about know you are a safe person and that you believe them. Support organizations – like WEAVE – working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support victims and to prevent future violence. Demand your elected officials support sensible legislation and policies that are victim-centered. Do something, because without action, we fail.