Virginia Giuffre and Daisy Coleman taught us that belief, education, and support are life-saving.

Remembering Virginia’s Courage

Trigger Warning: This article discusses sexual abuse, suicidal loss, and the lifelong impact of trauma. Please take care of yourself—step away or seek support if you need to.

This week we learned that Virginia Giuffre, a fierce survivor-advocate who helped expose Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network, passed away by suicide at age 41. Virginia dedicated her life to fighting sex trafficking, founding the Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) nonprofit, and giving a voice to countless survivors.

As we honor Virginia’s memory, we also remember another young hero—Daisy Coleman—whose own survival story sparked the founding of SafeBAE. Both women endured unimaginable trauma as teenagers, turned their pain into powerful advocacy, and showed us what it means to fight for change. Yet their untimely losses remind us that sexual assault is not only a crime—it’s a life-threatening crisis with repercussions that can last a lifetime, even for those who become our fiercest defenders.

Throughout this article, we’ll weave together Virginia and Daisy’s intertwined stories—two courageous survivors whose advocacy reshaped the conversation around sexual violence. We will examine why preventing sexual assault isn’t simply a legal or moral imperative, but an urgent public health crisis that demands immediate attention. And finally, we’ll explore concrete steps we can take to honor their legacies—by pushing for comprehensive consent education in every classroom, strengthening long-term support for survivors, and insisting on accountability measures that truly protect young people.

From Pain to Power: Virginia and Daisy’s Shared Fight

Virginia’s story began on a tennis court at age 15, where she was first lured into Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit by promises of money and opportunity. What started as a seemingly benign chance to earn money quickly turned into a nightmare: manipulated, trafficked, and silenced, she spent those critical teenage years in fear. Yet in 2007, after escaping her abuser’s control, she found the strength to speak out—knowing full well the powerful forces she would confront.

In a Manhattan federal courtroom five years later, Virginia took the stand with steely resolve. She described the horrors she endured—in vivid, heart-wrenching detail—and named the elites who enabled it. That testimony helped the world reckon with the vastness of Epstein’s network. But even as she faced threats and scrutiny, she refused to be defined by her trauma. Instead, she channeled it into action, founding Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) in 2015. Through SOAR, Virginia built safe spaces, mentorship programs, and legal clinics, ensuring survivors could find community and resources without shame.

Daisy’s journey began under different but also profoundly harrowing circumstances. At just 14, she survived a brutal assault by her brother’s best friend—left for dead in subfreezing temperatures—and then faced the ultimate betrayal when her own community refused to believe her and turned against her and her family. The weight of public shame could have crushed her spirit, but Daisy instead transformed her pain into purpose. She co-founded SafeBAE to give teens the language of consent, boundaries, and respect, training thousands of youth leaders and reshaping how schools and communities address sexual violence.

Though their backgrounds diverged—Virginia from a sex trafficking network of elites, Daisy from a small Midwestern town—their legacies converge in one urgent truth: healing from sexual violence cannot end with coming forward and fighting for change. It demands lasting systems of support, education that centers consent as non-negotiable, and a community that holds each other accountable. Both women knew that raising their voices was only the beginning of a much longer fight—one that we must now carry forward.

Sexual Violence as a Public Health Emergency

Above all, the first step is simple—and too often missing: we must believe survivors. When a young person comes forward, their words deserve our full trust and support, not skepticism or silence.

Beyond belief, the data make clear that sexual assault is a public health crisis with devastating, long-term impacts. According to the CDC, nearly one in three women and one in six men in the U.S. experience some form of sexual violence during their lives. Shockingly, one in nine girls and one in fifty boys are forced into sexual activity before turning 18.

These numbers represent our classmates, our friends, our teammates. And the aftermath is devastating: survivors are twice as likely to attempt suicide, three times more likely to experience depression, and far more likely to face substance use disorders and chronic health problems later in life. Even for those, like Virginia and Daisy, who become powerful advocates, the toll often persists in quiet moments—flashbacks, anxiety, or the lingering weight of shame and self-doubt.

Schools sit at the front lines of this crisis. Every skipped lesson, every missed support group, every silenced conversation is an opportunity lost to change a life’s trajectory. Comprehensive consent education is not about encouraging sexual activity—it’s about equipping young people with the tools to protect themselves and each other. 

Research bears this out. Schools that integrate SafeBAE’s peer-led consent programs report a 60% increase in students’ confidence to intervene in unsafe situations and a 45% drop in self-reported incidents of harassment and assault (SafeBAE 2024 Impact Report). Students trained through our programs consistently demonstrate greater understanding of healthy boundaries and are more likely to speak up when they witness harm.

Allowing consent education to fade from curricula isn’t just neglect—it’s turning away from a proven prevention tool. Virginia and Daisy’s legacies compel us to act: to believe survivors, to intervene early, and to build systems of support that stand by survivors for life.

How We Honor Their Legacies

Virginia and Daisy taught us that speaking out is only the beginning. Now, we must transform our grief into action by building lasting systems of prevention and support:

Join Our Summer Activist Institute. Spend four days in Portland alongside peers from across the country learning to lead consent education in your school. You’ll leave with the confidence, skills, and network to build lasting change.

Start a SafeBAE Chapter at Your School. We provide exactly what you need—step-by-step guides, training materials, and ongoing mentorship—so you can launch peer-led consent workshops, bystander intervention trainings, and survivor support groups on campus.

Access Our Survivor-Created Toolkits. From lesson plans on healthy relationships to protocols for trauma-informed reporting, our free digital resources equip educators, parents, and students with the tools to believe survivors first and act safely.

Host a SafeBAE Speaker. Bring a SafeBAE expert into your classroom, community meeting, or parent night to share research-backed strategies and spark the conversations that protect young people.

Donate to Sustain Youth-Led Prevention. Your support ensures that Free programming, scholarships, and aftercare partnerships continue—so no survivor ever faces abuse alone, and every student has the chance to learn what consent really means.

 

We owe it to Virginia and Daisy to ensure that no young person faces abuse alone—or worse, sees no path forward. By demanding consent education, survivor-centered care, and genuine accountability, we can turn the crisis of sexual violence into a culture of care and respect.

Their voices still guide us—let’s honor them by saving lives every single day.

For more support reach out to us directly at info@safebae.org