[0:02][music] >> Hello, I'm Anette Young and welcome to
[0:12]the 51% show about women reshaping our world. Not a day goes past without headlines revealing the far-reaching global impact of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. The
[0:23]convicted pedophile was arrested in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking involving underage girls. Prosecutors alleged he
[0:32]had operated an extensive network which had enabled years of abuse. Epstein died in a New York jail cell later that year while awaiting trial.
[0:43]His close associate Ghislaine Maxwell is now serving 20 years in an American jail for child sex trafficking. And as a sign of Epstein's ties with the
[0:54]rich and powerful Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates recently testified before a closed-door US House Committee hearing about his relationship
[1:04]with the late sex offender saying he had no knowledge of Epstein's crimes. So in a special edition we examine what lessons can be learned from the Epstein
[1:14]files and other similar scenarios, what they reveal about power, accountability, and the systems which allowed his crimes to continue for so long.
[1:25]With me is Teresa Hellman, Epstein and Maxwell survivor and now an advocate for survivors. Carré Otis, an American actor and model who herself has faced sexual
[1:35]violence and is a board member for the Model Alliance. And Rachel Foster, co-founder and president of the World Without Exploitation. I want to thank
[1:45]all of you for joining me today. Teresa, let me start with you. For those who might not be aware of your own story, what was your experience with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell?
[1:56]>> I was a full-time student. Uh I was also working at the school full-time and I was introduced to
[2:05]a a fellow student who then connected me with Sarah Kellen and once I spent some time with Sarah Kellen, I was then uh
[2:15]scheduled to go meet uh fly across the country and meet with Ms. Maxwell uh Ghislaine Maxwell to what I believe
[2:24]to be interview with her for a position to be a traveling massage therapist. And I meet Ms. Maxwell Ghislaine Maxwell in
[2:34]her home in New York City and spent a what I thought was a really lovely effective uh interview. I thought I was going to get this job.
[2:45]She treated me kindly, politely. Lots of connections in our conversation, which is all part of the grooming process. Before then, she lastly mentioned that I
[2:56]would go meet with her partner Jeffrey. I walked myself uh to the home of Jeffrey Epstein. Uh unbeknownst to me, I thought I was going to be interviewed and there
[3:08]I was assaulted uh by Jeffrey Epstein. >> Yes, indeed. And you were of course one of thousands. Carrie, if I could bring you into the conversation at this point,
[3:20]you recently filed a complaint here in France alleging that you were raped and trafficked by Gérald Marie, a former boss of Elite Model Agency. Marie having
[3:31]denied the allegations and cannot be prosecuted because of this country's statute of limitations. So, I want to ask you, how significant
[3:43]a barrier are statutes of limitations for survivors seeking justice? >> They're a tremendous barrier. And you know, statute of limitations, as
[3:53]we are seeing, are have have been created to protect the perpetrator and not the survivors that are coming forward. And so many of
[4:04]us have come up against that in the you know, the the journey of of trauma and sort of the wake up process for somebody who's experienced, especially childhood sexual
[4:15]traumas, um sexual abuse, that journey the lived experience, it takes sometimes decades for a survivor to be able to be safe
[4:26]enough and supported enough to be able to name the abuses that have taken place. And so, unfortunately, oftentimes that's past the statute of limitations.
[4:36]So, that is a limiting factor. And I also believe that there is more recognition and understanding about this process for survivors of trafficking and
[4:46]sexual abuse. And that that's why these look back windows are so imperative, like the Adult Survivor Act in the state of New York and the Child Victims Act in the state of New York, from which I also
[4:58]was able to file under. >> Rachel, your organization works with Epstein survivors and supports the full release of the Epstein files. In the meantime, US Democrats have proposed
[5:08]Virginia's Law, which of course is named after survivor Virginia Giuffre, which would eliminate the statute of limitations for all federal civil sex
[5:19]abuse cases. Where does this legislation currently stand? >> This legislation is hopefully going to get Republican co-sponsors soon. We have
[5:30]two Democratic sponsors, and it's so important that it's bipartisan. And I echo everything that Carrie said, it could take decades, often
[5:42]until 40 years old for somebody to to sexual abuse from childhood and beyond. And it's critical that justice
[5:52]it happens even when somebody discloses decades later. Teresa, what does this story say about the challenges that
[6:01]survivors face when accusing powerful individuals? >> Corruption still lives strong. This system has been
[6:11]operating for decades, you know, through generations. Uh I don't believe they were counting on the disruption of it. There are such
[6:22]strong, wonderful, brave, courageous survivors stepping forward both that have the ability to bring suits and that
[6:32]don't because of these unfortunate statute of limitations. One of the largest and main focuses in uh
[6:41]missions that I currently uh am on and see happening uh beyond me is laying the foundation
[6:52]for a better, brighter, more justice-balanced future. Uh it's time that the predators no longer get their continuous uh
[7:04]assumption of pardon just because of power. >> Carrie, so many of those survivors of Epstein were either models or aspiring
[7:13]models or performing artists. And you are currently a board member of Model Alliance, an organization pushing for workers' rights in that industry. Is it still the case that the modeling
[7:24]industry is effectively a trafficking pipeline? >> The modeling industry has served as a pipeline for perpetrators globally.
[7:33]And if we're looking at it, France, sort of the mecca of the fashion industry, was one of the Epstein's European and there were so many perpetrators
[7:45]working at we believe and it's becoming more apparent in a very organized in a very organized way. So, these issues will still continue as long as the modeling industry is unregulated and
[7:57]we have worked uh for regulations within the industry. We've had incredible pushbacks, but recently we've just come together with 40 models um who are survivors of
[8:08]Epstein's, Jean-Luc Brunel, and other perpetrators and we actually sent a letter calling for investigations into whether and how the modeling agencies and agents
[8:18]facilitated Epstein's abuse. We're really grateful to Rep Rep Khanna who responded that he was going to urge Congress to act. So, it's really important that we keep the pressure on
[8:29]at this time. But unless there are investigations into and other regulations um that move forward within the modeling industry, not just in New York, but
[8:39]globally, these issues are going to continue to happen. >> This is a question I want to ask all of you beginning with Rachel. At the end of the day, isn't this really
[8:50]about society failing to take sexual violence directed against women and girls seriously enough? It feels like this particular story only gained
[9:00]traction because powerful men were involved. >> It is true that there's been a reckoning at this moment. It's a watershed moment because survivors came collectively
[9:12]together and in a public way at great personal cost, not just for themselves who are the victims of Epstein and Maxwell's abuse, but they
[9:23]are doing it for all survivors because everybody at this moment is watching. And it's critical that they see
[9:33]accountability, truth, and justice because this will change the outcome for everybody going forward. Because there has been such a critical institutional
[9:45]betrayal and failure. This is five administrations in our country, in the United States, and it's three decades of
[9:55]abuse that was allowed to continue. So, we need this to end with a revelation in terms of accountability, or we are
[10:05]really giving the wrong message to both victims, survivors, and perpetrators about what's possible to do. >> Teresa, your thoughts?
[10:16]>> Women, especially women and and children that have been violated and abused, typically are not the first ones that
[10:25]are being helped. You know, the the perpetrators, especially in positions of power, are typically the one who will
[10:33]throw their money power at the problem, so to speak, to then cultivate a solution for them just to carry on. And
[10:43]it is so accurate that for every one of us have seen Maxwell survivors standing there, there are hundreds of thousands of survivors that we represent. You
[10:52]know, I believe that the time has come that we take a look at the victims first and have a victim-centered, victims-focused
[11:03]justice system versus the the other way around of protecting predators. >> Carrie, what do you think?
[11:14]>> We are at an inflection point, and it's it's taken whatever it's taken to reveal these underbelly, and sort of the this
[11:23]the systemic global abuse that's been taking place. We are seeing collectively in so many industries and in so many different operations with powerful
[11:34]players, so much coming to light and it's been like drinking from a fire hose. It's been unbearable. And
[11:44]this is a moment that there are so many survivors, powerful women standing together. And I believe we're we're right
[11:54]at at the edge of change. >> Rachel, you wanted to add something. >> Yes, Teresa said something critical
[12:05]which is that we need to look at the demand and the predation when there are vulnerable girls and women and boys, we've given a pass to
[12:16]men to prey on them for sex and we've allowed this whether it's a men will be men or it's we don't want to ruin his
[12:27]family or his career. Uh we've allowed this to continue and this is part of the reckoning that the demand for access to the bodies of those who are most
[12:38]vulnerable in all of our societies has been allowed to flourish and if we have any reckoning, it has to be that this is unacceptable, that we can't have true
[12:49]gender equality when there's a segment of our population that they're somehow fair game and we as a society don't care about them. And we see that in the 30
[13:01]years of investigative leads, of reports made whether it was by Virginia Roberts Giuffre or Maria Farmer that fell on deaf ears. >> A final question to all of you. When
[13:13]history looks back at the Epstein case, will it be remembered primarily as a story of a individual or as a warning about the failures of powerful
[13:24]institutions and most importantly, what lessons can we learn from this? >> We are writing a future history
[13:33]currently, and this is far beyond one individual. We are helping
[13:43]build a new and better, brighter future through our advocacy, through our relentless pursuit of justice. I know
[13:54]that all my survivor sisters, I know that Virginia, I know that Maria, I know that every single one of us standing strong and looking to the
[14:05]future are here committed to build a better way for generations to come. That's what I believe. >> Tory? >> I think the beauty of this moment is
[14:15]that so many of us have found each other and are standing together and are saying absolutely not, no more. And there is a collective wake up that is so profound
[14:26]and I believe that is going to carry us through this moment where we're standing on it the right side of history. >> Rachel, your thoughts? >> We often say courage is contagious and
[14:38]there's no place we've seen this more than in this moment where we see those who are speaking out, standing together,
[14:47]touching the hearts of so many people and giving them the courage to come forward, to stand up, and to challenge
[14:57]these systems and individuals who for too long have had impunity and lack of accountability. >> I'm afraid we're going to have to leave it there. It's been a pleasure speaking
[15:07]to you all. That being Teresa Halbach, Kelly O'Donnell, and Rachel Foster. And that's it for this edition. So, until our next show. Bye for now.
[15:17]>> [music]