Formerly associated with the name Emily Doe, 27-year-old Chanel Miller has empowered many sexual assault survivors worldwide in just the span of a week by stepping forward as a girl among millions who was a victim of sexual assault. She was raped and assaulted by former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner. This woman has reached millions by revealing her identity as the victim in one of the most controversial sexual assault cases.

Miller’s story made headlines back in 2016 when the world became aware of the People v. Turner case — also known as The Brock Turner case — where former college student, Brock Turner was charged for three felony charges including sexual penetration of with foreign object of an intoxicated person, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person and intent to commit rape. This had a drastic impact on the #MeToo Movement, as more sexual assault survivors began to face the truth of their assault, reach for the microphone and empower other victims. The case took quite a turn when it was revealed that Turner was only sentenced to six months in county jail but was let out in three. Aaron Persky’s [the judge in the case] judgment was criticized internationally, as people thought he was way too lenient with Turner. Persky was later recalled as judge, being the first in California in over 80 years.

Miller’s impacting decision to reveal herself has caused her to announce her upcoming memoir titled “Know My Name” that will follow everything that happened in her life during and after the Brock Turner case. “Know My Name” will be released on Sept. 24. 

Another similar case happened to be in a fictional Netflix Original titled “13 Reasons Why” where two of the main fictional characters took place in a sexual assault case, similar to Miller’s case. The person of guilt ended up serving only three months of the six that he was sentenced to.

It’s amazing that all of these survivors are now voicing out their identities and empowering others worldwide. It’s completely understandable as to why anyone who goes through a scenario, similar to the ones mentioned earlier, would want to stay quiet. Victims don’t know what the reaction is going to be if they speak out about something so sensitive. However, these survivors have treated it as an opportunity to help bring justice to sexual assault survivors. 

“Her [Chanel Miller’s] decision to come forward will shine new light not only on-campus rape but on how powerful institutions behave in such cases,” said sexual assault advocates in a recent article written by themercurynews.com.

This decision that Miller made has impacted millions of people worldwide by flipping around her vulnerabilities to something that is bringing justice for all sexual assault survivors across the world.