Chanel Miller, the survivor in the Brock Turner sexual assault case, wants fellow victims to be kind to themselves as they heal from trauma.
“Wherever you may be in your journey, be patient with your healing,” Miller wrote in a Glamour essay published on Tuesday. “Healing happens slowly. And surviving doesn’t always mean fighting on the front lines.”
Miller, who recently published her critically acclaimed memoir “Know My Name,” wrote the essay for Glamour’s Women of the Year issue. Before she publicly identified herself for the first time last month, she was honored as one of the magazine’s Women of the Year in 2016 for her now-famous victim impact statement she read in court at Turner’s sentencing hearing.
“Sometimes being a survivor means drinking enough water and sleeping well at night. Just facing the day can require courage,” Miller continued. “Fight, but just as important, rest. It’s society that needs to do more, to learn how to listen, to hold the space for survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Turner, a former Stanford University student, was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious Miller behind a dumpster during a 2015 fraternity party. He served only three months of a six-month jail sentence after being released early on good behavior in August 2016.
He faced up to 14 years in prison, but then-Judge Aaron Persky said prison would “have a severe impact” on Turner and handed down the lenient punishment. Outraged voters later approved Persky’s recall from the bench.
“Every survivor who came before me has taught me how to be ready. They have cleared a path,” Miller wrote. “I have taken my time restoring, learning how to dig my tunnel. Now I proudly walk up it and join them.”
Head over to Glamour to read Miller’s full essay.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.