Originally Published on Change.org on October 30, 2017
My name is Amanda Nguyen, and after my rape, I felt despair. So when I met a broken criminal justice system — like so many survivors who found out their rape kits can be destroyed before being tested — I rewrote the law. I founded a team called Rise, a civil rights nonprofit that fights for sexual violence civil rights and we did the impossible. We wrote and passed the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights unanimously through Congress, and 10 more state laws protecting survivors.
You signed my petition on Change.org and helped make all of that possible. I need your help once more.
When I walked into my local rape crisis center and saw how the waiting room filled up, I realized this experience wasn’t mine alone. This is why I started Rise, because my story is not only my own. There are 25 million rape survivors in America, the sheer amount of #MeToos that flooded my Facebook feed was shocking. I stand in solidarity with everyone who has shared their story through #MeToo. Thank you, to every single person who has shared. There is so much solidarity and strength in numbers to show this impacts everyone, but I also understand how triggering it can be. I’m incredibly grateful for people speaking up to show the ubiquity of sexual violence.
Everyone is critical to campaigns like these and amplifying survivors’ voices. There is a lot of work to be done, but there is so much we can all do. I sincerely believe there is no better time to change the world than today. Join the movement to help us turn the #MeToo Campaign into resources for grassroots organizers who are fighting for change in their local communities across the United States.
And finally I want to say, me too. Me too as a survivor, me too in solidarity with everyone who has shared, me too in fighting for a fairer better world – women and men alike. Thank you, for helping us give survivors the voice and civil rights they deserve.
With Rise, love and solidarity,
Amanda Nguyen
