⚖️ The System May Not Bring Closure—But You Still Have a Right to Choose

Let’s tell the truth:
You may not find closure in the American justice system.
Many Survivors don’t.
Some find more harm.
More dismissal.
More delay.
More erasure.

As someone who served for years as a court advocate for victims of domestic violence, rape, stalking, and child abuse, I can say what many of us know deep down:

This system was not built for women.
And it sure as hell wasn’t built for Black women.

But even in that truth, there is another one:
You still have the right to access it.
You still have the right to define what justice means to you.
You have the right to pursue it—or not.
And no one gets to take that choice away from you.

When a Survivor says,

“I want to report.”
I support her.

When a Survivor says,

“I don’t trust the system. I’m not ready.”
I support her.

When a Survivor says,

“I need to stay. For now. It’s safer for me this way.”
We build a plan together—around her wisdom, not against it.

Because her life belongs to her.
Her survival belongs to her.
And the system doesn’t get to define what her victory looks like.

💬 We must learn to support women’s choices.

Survivors’ choices.

Not just when it’s neat.
Not just when it’s socially approved.
But even when it makes us uncomfortable.
Even when it goes against what we were taught to expect from “strong women.”
Even when it disrupts the way this society tells us women should behave after trauma.

That’s where real solidarity lives.
That’s where change begins.
That’s where healing starts.

🌀 Survivor Affirmation:
“She didn’t follow their map.
She made her own.
And every step she took was sacred—because she chose it.”

📣 To every Survivor navigating systems that weren’t built for you:
You are not failing.
You are not foolish.
You are not less worthy if the courtroom doesn’t give you what you need.

You are allowed to want justice.
You are allowed to walk away.
You are allowed to define what healing means for you.

And you are not alone.

🔹 Affirmations for Survivor Self-Determination

1. I do not owe the world a perfect recovery—I owe myself a life that feels true.

2. I am allowed to define what justice looks like for me.

3. I honor my intuition, even when others doubt or dismiss it.

4. My choices are sacred—even when they go against what others expect.

5. I am not confused. I am not lost. I am reclaiming my power on my own timeline.

6. I deserve support that uplifts me, not control disguised as care.

7. It is not weakness to stay. It is not weakness to go. It is wisdom to know what is safest.

8. I do not need permission to protect my peace.

9. I release shame placed on me by systems that were never built for my safety.

10. I trust myself to lead me home—step by step, truth by truth.