Sexual abuse advocate Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir has been published today, detailing her experience being caught in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
Called Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, the book gives a heartwrenching account of Giuffre’s exploitation in the early 2000s by the UK’s Prince Andrew, as well as other influential men.
In April this year, Giuffre died by suicide, with the memoir’s publisher, Alfred A Knopf, announcing she’d completed the manuscript before her passing and that it was her “heartfelt wish” the book be released.
Giuffre shares, in the memoir, her memories and timeline of events, beginning with her meeting Epstein’s accomplice, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence on sex-trafficking charges.
When Giuffre first met Maxwell, she chillingly recalls: “I didn’t know it yet, but an apex predator was closing in.”
Soon after meeting, Maxwell introduced Giuffre to Epstein, where she ‘taught’ Giuffre how to give him a massage. Giuffre recalls being hesitant but figured she was safe with another woman in the room.
“Besides, while the man on the table was nude, it’s not like I was alone with him. The fact that a woman was with me made me breathe easier.”
Giuffre goes on to recount the sexual abuse she experienced from Maxwell and Epstein.
“So many young women, myself included, have been criticised for returning to Epstein’s lair even after we knew what he wanted from us. How can you complain about being abused, some have asked, when you could so easily have stayed away?”
“But that stance discounts what many of us had been through before we encountered Epstein, as well as how good he was at spotting girls whose wounds made them vulnerable,” Giuffre writes, noting that several of the girls, herself included, had been abused as children or were manipulated to think Epstein- a man with power- could help them fulfill lifelong dreams, such as becoming a dancer or actor.
Along with this, Giuffre said Epstein threatened her to never tell anyone about the abuse by saying, “we know where your brother goes to school” and that he ‘owns the police department’.
Prince Andrew
In another excerpt, Giuffre recalls her experience of abuse with Prince Andrew, saying: “He was friendly enough, but still entitled – as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright.”
Giuffre said she had sex with Prince Andrew three separate occasions, including when she was 17-years-old and sometimes with other female victims, who were likely underage.
“Epstein, Andy (Prince Andrew), and approximately eight other young girls and I had sex together. The other girls all appeared to be under the age of 18 and didn’t really speak English. Epstein laughed about how they couldn’t really communicate, saying they are the easiest girls to get along with,” writes Giuffre.
In February 2022, Giuffre’s lawyers obtained a settlement from Prince Andrew, who continues to deny Giuffire’s allegations that he had sex with her, that she had been trafficked to him or that he had even met her.
Counteracting this, an infamous photo of the pair of Giuffre standing with Prince Andrew and Maxwell was released, which Prince Andrew claims could have been doctored.
In her memoir, Giuffre wrote about the 2022 confidential settlement and alleged that Prince Andrew’s team had tried to hire “internet trolls to hassle” her, while he hid behind the “well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers.
“After casting doubt on my credibility for so long – Prince Andrew’s team had even gone so far as to try to hire internet trolls to hassle me – the Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well,” she wrote.
“We would never get a confession, of course. That’s what settlements are designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing: a general acknowledgment of what I’d been through.”
This week, new allegations have come out that the Metropolitan Police are “actively” looking into media reports that Prince Andrew tried to obtain personal information about Giuffre through his police protection.
Ahead of the publication of Giuffre’s memoir, Prince Andrew announced he was voluntarily deciding not to use his titles of Duke of York or Knight of the Order of the Garter.
Speaking to the significance of Epstein’s crimes and the “sheer number of victims” he and other powerful people “preyed upon”, Giuffre warns readers to not “be fooled by those in Epstein’s circle who say they didn’t know what he was doing.”
“Epstein not only didn’t hide what was happening, he took a certain glee in making people watch. And people did watch – scientists, fundraisers from the Ivy League and other heralded institutions, titans of industry. They watched and they didn’t care.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.
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