Joe Biden pens open letter to Stanford rape victim: 'You are a warrior'


The powerful message a 23-year-old Stanford sexual assault survivor wrote to her accused rapist has been read by millions after it was published by BuzzFeed last week. On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden responded to the unnamed victim in an open letter, saying he was "filled with furious anger — both that this happened to you and that our culture is still so broken that you were ever put in the position of defending your own worth."
Your story has already changed lives.You have helped change the culture.You have shaken untold thousands out of the torpor and indifference towards sexual violence that allows this problem to continue.Your words will help people you have never met and never will.You have given them the strength they need to fight.And so, I believe, you will save lives.I do not know your name—but I will never forget you.The millions who have been touched by your story will never forget you. [Joe Biden via BuzzFeed]
"You are a warrior — with a solid steel spine," Biden tells the "courageous young woman." Read the full letter at BuzzFeed.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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