This episode is one of the hardest stories I have ever told.

When people ask why women don’t report assault, why they wait years to speak, why they stay silent, I need you to understand something — it’s not because it didn’t happen. It’s not because they’re lying. It’s not because they’re weak.

It’s because the system that is supposed to protect them often protects the offender instead.

This episode is my story — from the assault, to the police report, to the courtroom, to watching the justice system fail not just me, but multiple women.

But this is not just about me.
This is about every woman who was not believed.
Every woman who was minimized.
Every woman who was told it wasn’t “bad enough.”

Silence protects predators.
And I’m not silent anymore.