Even When Victims Win, They Often Lose: Why the E. Jean Carroll DOJ Probe Should Enrage Us All 

Even When Victims Win, They Often Lose: Why the E. Jean Carroll DOJ Probe Should Enrage Us All

By Amanda Walsh and Stacy Malone
Deputy Director of External Affairs and Executive Director, Victim Rights Law Center

This week, we learned that the Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation targeting E. Jean Carroll, who has publicly shared her account of being sexually assaulted by Donald Trump in the 1990s.  

In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, and later another jury found him liable for defaming E. Jean and awarded her $83 million. These are remarkable victories in a system and within a culture that is stacked against survivors of sexual assault. Yet, it hasn’t stopped her from being discredited, attacked, and now criminally investigated.  

High-profile cases like those involving Donald Trump, Harvey Weinstein, and Jeffrey Epstein signal to survivors how they will be treated if they come forward and the social, financial, and reputational consequences they may face. Retaliation isn’t a tactic used only by celebrities, politicians, and other well-connected men who our society has deemed above the law. Many perpetrators of sexual assault weaponize our “justice” system against victims. In recent years, we’ve seen a consistent rise in retaliatory countercomplaints, defamation lawsuits, and false reports by perpetrators as a way to intimidate victims in workplace investigations, education settings, and courtrooms alike. And, it is often successful. Victims’ worries go far beyond, “Will I be believed?” and are instead, “Will I be sued? Lose my job? Harassed online?” 

Even now, after two jury trials validating her account, E. Jean is often referred to in media reports as the woman who “accused” Donald Trump. At what point does she become the woman who simply was sexually abused by Donald Trump? Perpetrators use systems to preserve a victim’s silence. Even when their attempts to disprove a survivor fail, like in E. Jean’s case, they make the cost of coming forward unbearably high.    

We stand in support of and alongside E. Jean. She joined us in 2023 at our annual Shining Star Celebration. She has continued to be a champion of our work, offering words of support and encouragement. In her honor, we’ve even adopted her signature “RAVISHING REGARDS” when signing off on internal emails. E. Jean and every survivor who has been intimidated, threatened, and dismissed is at the center of our work. VRLC was founded on the idea that every sexual assault victim should have access to an attorney, and the need has never been greater.

Amanda Walsh, Esq., (she/her) is the Deputy Director of External Affairs of Victim Rights Law Center. She joined the organization in 2011 and is dedicated to amplifying stories that center and uplift survivors. 

Stacy Malone, Esq., (she/her) is the Executive Director of Victim Rights Law Center. Her essay, “The Power of Survivor-Defined Justice” is in the anthology Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World, released in January 2020.