VIRGINIA ROBERTS GIUFFRE
Virginia Roberts Giuffre will never forget 2020. It will forever mark the year that Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested for her alleged involvement in convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s rampant abuse of young women and girls. It was Maxwell, Giuffre says, who lured girls into the US billionaire’s world
– and she was one of them.
The former British socialite’s arrest on July 2 was intensely emotional for Giuffre, who has accused Maxwell and Epstein of forcing her to have sex with a cohort of their powerful friends, including Prince Andrew, when she was just 17.
“In the months after Epstein died last year, I kept waiting to hear that Ghislaine had been taken into custody, denied bail and locked away for her heinous crimes against children,” Giuffre tells marie claire from her home in Cairns. “When it happened, you can’t imagine the tears of joy pouring down my face. That was the best day of my year.”
Brave doesn’t adequately describe the mother of three, whose tireless fight against sex trafficking and child sex abuse is finally starting to have an impact, almost a decade after she decided to go public. “At times it has been truly frightening speaking up – particularly as a wife and mother concerned about her family,” admits Giuffre. “I’ve had death threats. I know the people I’m speaking out against have limitless power and money – Epstein and Maxwell wielded immense power and often let me know that they would never go to jail. But if I had stayed silent, they would still be running one of the most prolific sex trafficking rings of modern times.”
Yet Giuffre is adamant she will never be censored, as evidenced by her courageous recollections in this year’s Netflix documentary Filthy Rich. She has also established a non-profit organisation, Victims Refuse Silence, to advocate for victims of sexual trafficking and abuse. “This doesn’t end with Epstein’s death and Maxwell’s incarceration,” she insists. “The fight is far from over, and we must continue to speak out for the voiceless. I want all survivors to know that it is not their shame to carry any longer, and it never was.”
She remains confident that justice will continue to be served to all her abusers. “I believe the truth has a way of coming to light, exposing the ugly realities of what happened. It’s just a matter of time, and time is on my side.”