Elizabeth Grattan Testimony: OHSB 162
The following is an abridged version of live and submitted proponent testimony for Ohio Senate Bill 162.
February 19, 2020
Good morning and thank you for allowing me to speak today on behalf of Ohio Senate Bill 162. My name is Elizabeth Grattan and I am here as a concerned citizen — I’m also here as a friend to those who have suffered sexual assault, some you have heard from or will hear from today and others who may still not have found the courage to share their story.
Because the truth is, most won’t share their story. At least not publicly. They may share it with close friends, sometimes they will confide in their family, but for most all victims, the details of the violence they endured only exists in their memories — in solitude and in nightmares and in fear — fleshed out in their day to day as either self destruction or self preservation or, in some of the worst cases, an end to the life they lost along the way.
For all that is the incredible resilience of the human being, over a third of sexual assault survivors will contemplate suicide, with over 1 in 10 going as far as attempting this early grave. Some succeeding in that path.
To say that rape is not deadly, is a gross oversimplification that ignores the actual…
