How Many Texas #MeToo Stories Are Going Untold?

She wished to share her story. She was all set. But she changed her mind after months of telling everyone about the sexual attack, waiting for justice, and hoping for change. There was too much at stake.

It is getting more and more dangerous for survivors of sexual abuse in Texas to speak out. The #MeToo movement used to give victims a place to talk about what happened and ask for help. But now that women's rights are being attacked more and more in politics, that platform is falling apart. Survivors are being told they have to keep quiet again.

The rights of women in Texas have changed a lot. Gov. Greg Abbott used to say that he would "eliminate rape," but now he's changed his mind. Because of the state's complete ban on abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, thousands of survivors are having pregnancies that were forced on them by their attackers. According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, there were about 26,313 pregnancies in Texas that were caused by rape in the 16 months after the abortion ban went into effect in 2021.

It affects more than just reproductive freedom. A nationwide glut of untested rape kits keeps victims from getting justice. DNA proof is still a very important part of prosecuting sexual offenders, but many victims have to wait a long time for results that could put their attackers in jail.

Politics are also being used to shut women up. A site called DEI "watch list" has been going after government workers, mostly Black women, as part of a larger attack on efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Women are losing rights at work, and it's getting harder for them to get good reproductive health care.

It's hard to believe the numbers. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) says that one in six women will be sexually attacked at some point in their lives. It's one in 33 for guys. It is said by the Houston Area Women's Center that more than 90% of sexual assaults are never recorded. Their #SurvivorSpeak campaign wants to break the silence, but a lot of women are afraid to speak out.

While at SXSW in Austin, Tarana Burke, the founder of #MeToo, talked about the change in public attention. She said, "One of the hardest things has been getting people to look away from the bad people and toward the people who have been hurt."

In the meantime, Texas politicians still don't care about how their laws affect women. The death rates for mothers are some of the highest in the country, but not much is being done to fix the problem. This focus on "protecting women and girls" by banning transgender women from sports is a distraction from the real problem, which is a culture of rape that fails survivors at every turn.

This woman wrote to me because she thought her story could help other people. She knew that speaking out could put her safety, her job, and her career at risk, though. In a world that won't let her speak, I can only hope she gets justice and better health.

Every day as I raise my daughter, I tell her, "You are strong." Your voice is important. But I wonder—will those words still be true when she's older? People's rights to women are under attack more and more these days.