Virginia Giuffre, a voice for survivors of sex trafficking and abuse, has died by suicide at 41 years old. Giuffre was one of the most well-known victims to come forward against financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who was remanded to prison on sex trafficking charges when he died by suicide in 2019.
On April 25, Giuffre was found unresponsive and declared deceased at a home in Neergabby, Australia, where she has resided for several years, the Western Australia Police Force confirmed to People.
“Giuffre lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” her family said in their statement, per People. “Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors. Despite all the adversity she faced in her life, she shone so bright. She will be missed beyond measure. The light of her life were her children Christian, Noah, and Emily.”
“It was when she held her newborn daughter in her arms that Virginia realized she had to fight back against those who had abused her and so many others,” the statement continued. “There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia. She was heroic and will always be remembered for her incredible courage and loving spirit. In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels.”
Giuffre’s attorney Sigrid McCawley also mourned the advocate in a statement to People. “Virginia was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims,” MCawley said. “Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring. The world has lost an amazing human being today. Rest in peace, my sweet angel.”
In a sworn deposition taken in 2016, Virginia Giuffre alleged she was introduced to Epstein through his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex crimes related to Epstein’s abuse of underage girls, reportedly as young as 14 years old.
Giuffre herself was 16 years old at the time, working as an attendant at the spa at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s resort in Florida. The mother of three alleged she was eventually forced to have sex with Epstein’s friends, including royal family member Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew has denied Giuffre’s sexual abuse allegations, per CNN.
“It is a lot of hard work. And it’s a lot of emotions. But it’s a lot of strength, and it’s a lot of courage,” Giuffre said of coming forward and speaking out for herself and other victims in a Glamour roundtable interview with four other Epstein survivors in December 2019. “And it’s also about reclaiming that power back from what they took from us. This is not our shame. They did something wrong. And I think that’s the idea that needs to be changed right there. We have been told for so long, ‘Don’t talk about it. This is shameful.’ We don’t want to go to dinner parties with our friends and talk about sexual abuse or sexual trafficking, or anything like that. But it’s not our shame. This happened to us.”
She continued, “The way we talk about victims. The whole idea needs a different concept. And I think we’re getting there. But it’s gonna take a lot of us standing together and continuing to talk about it. Continuing to say, ‘We’re not gonna shut up. We didn’t do anything wrong here. These perpetrators did this to us. They hurt us, and now we’re standing up for it.’ The tide is going to turn, but it’s going to take a lot of work.”
Read moreFive Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s Abuse on Trauma, Justice, and Sisterhood
Virginia Giuffre, Teresa Helm, Rachel Benavidez, Marijke Chartouni, and Sarah Ransome reframe the narrative—and reclaim their power.
By Mattie Kahn
The post Virginia Giuffre, Advocate and Sex Trafficking Survivor of Jeffrey Epstein, Died by Suicide at 41 appeared first on Glamour.
