Know Her Name

Hello gorgeous and welcome back to You Go Girl! In September, the woman known as Emily Doe in 2015-2016 court proceedings told the world who she really is- Chanel Miller. The now 27-year-old Miller was the victim of a 2015 sexual assault involving Stanford swimmer Brock Turner. She remained anonymous until the recent announcement of her forthcoming book, Know My Name, which will tell her story.

Miller was born in June 1992 with the Chinese name Zhang Xiao Xia, meaning "little summer". Her mother is a Chinese immigrant who came to America to pursue a career in writing and her father is a retired therapist from the United States. Miller graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara at the College of Creative Studies with a degree in literature. She is now a writer based in San Francisco. It was after her graduation when she attended the fateful party at Stanford University with her younger sister.

On this night in January 2015, the Stanford freshman Turner sexually assaulted the then 22-year-old Miller, who he had halfway undressed and taken behind a dumpster. She was unconscious for the duration of the assault. Two graduate students rode by on their bicycles and stopped Turner when they saw it happening. One of the students was so traumatized by what he saw that he wept while giving his police report.

The court case against Turner, People v. Turner, began in February 2015 when he plead not guilty to three felony counts of sexual assault. The trial lasted a grueling 14 months, and concluded with Turner being sentenced to only six months in jail, despite facing up to 14 years in prison based on his charges. The judge repeatedly expressed concern that a lengthy prison sentence would have a "severe impact" on the life of the swimmer who once had Olympic aspirations.

At the sentencing, Miller, at the time still known as Emily Doe, read a powerful victim impact statement that was published by media outlets worldwide. This was the world's first glimpse into the untold story of Turner's victim. In it, she expressed the physical, mental, and emotional trauma that she faced following the assault. She told the world that she was kept in the dark for days after her assault and only found out the details of what had happened to her through an online news story. She told of the pain of the lengthy trial, being prodded and questioned by attorneys, having pictures of her body shown to a court room audience, and constantly having blame placed on her, despite overwhelming evidence against Turner. If you've never read her statement, read it. I cannot stress enough how necessary it is to hear her story.

Her letter completely changed the conversation around sexual assault and became a rallying cry for victims of sexual crimes. Miller received thousands of letters from victims voicing their support and thanking her. In 2016, Glamour named Emily Doe a woman of the year for the powerful affect she had in altering the conversation around sexual assault.

"Even if his sentence is light, hopefully this will wake people up," Miller told BuzzFeed News after Turner's sentencing. "I want the judge to know that he ignited a tiny fire. If anything, this is a reason for all of us to speak louder."

For years, she remained nameless and faceless. That is, until she did interview in September with 60 Minutes announcing the release of her memoir, Know My Name. For years, we only knew the name, face, and story of Brock Turner. We heard about his privilege, his successes, his future, and his excuses. Before the trial, she was told, "because [Turner] knows you don't remember, he is going to get to write the script". That might have been true then, but now Chanel Miller is writing the script. She is taking control of the narrative. Now the world knows her story, her healing, her hopes and dreams, and her identity.

Miller's story has been a source of justice, healing, solidarity, hope, and a call to action. She is reclaiming her voice and using it for powerful cause. Read her story. Hear her voice. Know her name.

Thank you, Chanel Miller.

Maddie