When sexual assault survivor Chessy Prout shed her anonymity on national television last summer, U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster watched with admiration and respect for the 17-year-old, Kuster recalled in a phone interview Friday.
Two months earlier, Kuster had broken her silence to her family and the world about the sexual abuse she had suffered as a young woman.
After hearing Prout tell her story, as the victim in the St. Paul’s rape case, Kuster said, she had to tell Prout, “I was so impressed with her eloquence and courage.”
Since that initial conversation, Kuster and Prout have teamed up with other survivors for what they hope will be the first of many events – including one at a later date in New Hampshire – to increase public awareness about sexual violence on school campuses. “Shattering the Silence: A Conversation at the Capitol to Change the Culture and Prevent Sexual Violence” will be held Wednesday night at the U.S. Capitol, and will feature a panel discussion with Prout and two other survivors: Delaney Henderson and Julia Dixon.
Prout, Henderson and Dixon are ambassadors for the nonprofit organization Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, which works both to help rape survivors and prevent sexual assaults.
Prout revealed her identity more than two years after she was assaulted by Owen Labrie in a mechanical room at St. Paul’s School in Concord. After a high-profile trial that included three days of Prout’s testimony, a jury convicted Labrie of statutory rape but cleared him of the most serious felony sexual assault charges. He is appealing his convictions and seeking a new trial.
When Prout told her story on the Today show in August, she launched a social media campaign #IHaveTheRightTo in partnership with PAVE. That campaign has generated global participation with more than 4 million online interactions to date, PAVE Founder Angela Rose said in an interview Monday.
Henderson’s story of surviving sexual assault and bullying in high school is profiled in the Netflix film Audrey & Daisy. Dixon, who was raped her freshman year in college, was among the sexual assault survivors to join Lady Gaga onstage at the Oscars in February 2016. (The pop singer has said she was raped at age 19.)
In a tweet Monday morning advertising the event, Prout wrote of Henderson, Dixon and Kuster, “Very excited to have the opportunity to use my voice this week along with three of my heroes!”
Kuster said Prout introduced her to PAVE, whose representatives began having regular communication with Kuster’s staff about ways they could partner on the issue. She said it was through those follow-up conversations that she learned about the film Audrey & Daisy and knew she wanted to share it with other lawmakers.
“Next month, we’ll be launching a bipartisan task force in Congress to combat sexual assault,” Kuster said, noting that the Feb. 1 event is in some ways a kick-off to that, and an opportunity to educate.
Rose echoed that point, saying that people on both sides of the political aisle need to work together, because this isn’t a partisan issue. She said the voices of these survivors – and others – have really helped awaken a nation to how prevalent sexual violence is in this country.
“We always advocate to have survivors’ voices at the table,” Rose said. “The hearts of policymakers are opened when they hear real-life stories about how these crimes have impacted victims and their families.”
Nearly 1 in 4 women in New Hampshire has been a victim of sexual assault. One in 20 New Hampshire men have also been sexually assaulted.
Kuster said that in touring the state’s treatment and recovery centers, she was struck by the number of people who spoke about the trauma they’ve experienced in their lives, particularly sexual harassment and abuse.
“There’s a real connection here to the other issues impacting our state,” she said.
Wednesday’s event will stream live on CapitolConversation.eventbrite.com. The panel discussion is scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)