In the United States alone, there will be well over 400,000 men, women and children who will face sexual abuse at some point in the next year. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 310 are reported to police, 50 of them lead to an arrest, 28 of them are convicted of a felony and 25 of them lead to prison time for the perpetrator.
At the end of her freshman year of high school, Chessy Prout thought she was going on a date with a senior boy. Just hours later, she was raped in a mechanical room at St. Pauls School in Concord, New Hampshire.
Little did I know, though, this would be the most dangerous decision we would make – by letting them go to this community.
-Susan Prout
Nothing could have prepared Chessy for that May night in 2014, nor for the battles in the Manchester County courtroom and the court of public opinion.
As the St. Pauls community crumbled around the Prouts, they found a new community in becoming activists for survivors. Both of Chessy’s parents, Alex and Susan, left their day jobs to run I Have the Right To, their nonprofit, full time. Listen to the Prout’s story above.
In episode two, hear from three survivors of sexual abuse – uninterrupted. They told their stories to HQNN in hopes of helping other victims of sexual violence.
Content warning: This episode contains detailed descriptions of sexual violence.
Clip Credit:
- WMUR
- CBS News
- ABC News
- NBC News