Katie Thurston talks about her experience as a “rape victim”.
The Bachelor The alum, 33, told her Instagram followers on Friday, June 28, that she was raped at an unspecified point in her life — and now she wants to share the resources that “saved my life” to help other victims of sexual assault.
In her post, Thurston described her experience after being sexually assaulted, which included getting a rape kit and getting support from the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).
Although she did not include any details about the incident, Thurston previously revealed in Bachelor episode in 2021 that she was “involved in a non-consensual situation” 10 years earlier on New Year’s Eve. (It’s not clear if that incident is related to this one.)
She then added: “I just want you to know that I’ve come a long way from where I was 10 years ago and how important consent is, how important communication is and how important it is not to make someone feel guilty because if you don’t have enough sex with them, it makes them feel guilty because they generally don’t have sex with them.”
Thurston captioned Friday’s post with, “I’m loved. I’m safe. I have support. Resources linked in bio. 💙.”
The Instagram slides featured the steps she took after the incident.
“My pain has purpose, my purpose has power, I want to focus on the positive,” the first slide began.
“The justice system continues to fail victims every day. I refuse to feel defeated in the strength it took to advocate for myself. I hope my experience will help those feel the strength and support they need,” Thurston continued. “While I’m not ready to share my story, I do want to share the valuable resources that saved my life.”
“I called 911 to report my rape. They sent a police officer to take my statement and then they took me to a special medical center to do a SART scan,” read the next slide. Her SART included a nurse and a lawyer.
“I felt like a little lost child who was vulnerable and scared. They thoroughly explained the process, asking for consent along the way and allowing me to refuse or change my mind at any time,” she wrote.
Katie Thurston. Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty
“I had blood drawn to check for STDs, medications and blood alcohol levels. I was given Plan B, Rocephin (vaccination for bacterial infections), azithromycin (to treat possible STIs), and Truvada and nPEP for a month (to treat possible HIV ),” Thurston said on the next slide, letting her followers know that it can be done for anyone at no cost in San Diego, even without health insurance.
She said she was given digital tools to help her track the results of medical examinations.
“My equipment would take four months to complete its cycle. Nothing could move until it did, so the time in between allowed me to seek mental health support,” she wrote.
Thurston said she saw a therapist who specialized in sexual abuse “every week for three months, free of charge to me,” and also had a lawyer she could call or text at any time if she had questions about the process.
In one of the final slides about the process, she told her followers about the California Victims Compensation Board, which helps survivors of sexual assault and rape recover financially. Thurston also said the National Rape, Abuse and Incest Network (RAINN) has resources.
The TV personality thanked her followers for helping her raise more than $9,000 for RAINN in December 2023 (she and RAINN split $3,200 in follower donations, for a total of $9,600).
Thurston also recommended the book in her social media post Know My Name by Chanel Miller. “Although I could only consume it in small doses before nausea set in, I also felt the validation of every single chapter,” read another slide, adding that it should be required reading for teenagers.
Thurston said the book helped her communicate better with police officers and ask them better questions.
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Katie Thurston. Andrew Eccles/ABC
A particularly vulnerable slide read: “I did everything I was supposed to do as a rape victim. ‘Here are my texts, my calls, my photos, my videos, names, witnesses, locations, social media, timestamps, surveillance footage , DNA, my body.’ ”
“The warning ‘guilty is hard in a criminal court’ echoed for months and months, like a pesky parrot you were forced to hold. And as much as I heard it, I still wasn’t ready to be stopped. And yet, without warning, I was,” the slide concluded.
Although Thurston did not reveal the obstacle that prevented her from reporting her rape, she said in the penultimate slide that it was “not a loss for me” because she was safe, loved and supported.
Thurston called the legal system “broken” and wrote: “Change happens in failure. And the justice system failed me. And it continues to fail thousands every day. But don’t give up.”
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In her final slide about her experience, she reminded her followers that they are their own best advocates and that they are valued and strong.
“I believe in you,” the series of slides concluded.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education