Virginia Giuffre penned an inspiring message to survivors of abuse before her death by suicide, empowering them to fight for themselves and to fight for change.
“Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, and Brothers need to show the battle lines are drawn, and stand together to fight for the future of victims,” it reads. “Is protesting the answer? I don’t know. But we’ve got to start somewhere.”
Giuffre’s sister-in-law Amanda Roberts shared a portion of the handwritten note to Facebook, saying the family discovered it while going through journals left behind at Giuffre’s Australian farmhouse. They decided to share the passage after learning that supporters and survivors through the nonprofit Strength Through Strides had met with senators at the U.S. Capitol and held a march in Giuffre’s honor, People reported.
“Survivors should know that she’s with you and her voice will not be silenced,” Roberts said. “I know that it’s so important, and her wish is that we continue to fight.”
Giuffre, who accused Britain’s Prince Andrew and U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein of sexually exploiting her as a teenager, was found dead in her home near Perth on Friday.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking,” her family said in a statement, going on to describe her as “a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking.” They also praised Giuffre’s “incredible courage” for being one of the first to speak out against Epstein and his chief assistant Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died by suicide in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in August 2019. Maxwell, meanwhile, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for a 2021 child sex-trafficking conviction related to Epstein.
Prince Andrew has strongly denied having any sort of relationship with Giuffre while she was underaged. He privately settled a lawsuit with her in 2022.
Originally Published: April 30, 2025 at 3:50 PM EDT
