Epstein files vote marks a turning point for survivors and the power of collective action

The US House’s vote to release the federal records related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes marks a historic turning point. Not just in one of the most notorious criminal cases of our time, but in the long fight for transparency and justice for all survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation.

For years, these files existed behind a wall of secrecy, sealed away even as survivors demanded transparency and accountability. Instead of decisive action, they faced a maze of political deflection and downplaying. Trump repeatedly dismissed calls to release the documents, framing the issue as a partisan weapon rather than a necessary path to justice. Despite having the unilateral authority to unseal the files during his presidency, he refused, leaving survivors to carry the burden of demanding the truth.

This vote represents the breaking of that wall. Wendy Avis, who met Epstein when she was just 14, articulated in an article for the Guardian what many survivors have felt for decades:

We are exhausted from surviving the trauma and then surviving the politics that swirl around it. Please release the records. Stop making survivors fight alone for the truth.

Why these files matter

At its core, the push to release the Epstein files has never been about political point-scoring. It has always been about transparency. Survivors and advocates have long argued that the sealed records represent not only a barrier to justice, but a symbol of a system that has historically shielded powerful abusers.

This moment is not only about Epstein’s survivors. It is a victory for every survivor of sexual abuse, exploitation, and gender-based violence who has been doubted, dismissed, ignored, or forced to justify their own pain.

The release of these files represents a broader cultural shift toward accountability, one that survivors have fought to create for decades. As a recent Times editorial put plainly:

Treating Mr. Epstein’s crimes as a political opportunity insults the countless women and girls he abused. They are the ones that should have been front and center through all of this, starting in 2005 when his predations began to come to light, through to the present, when they dominate the national conversation, and onward for the rest of the story’s no doubt very long life.

The power of collective action

This victory is also a testament to the strength of collective action. Survivors who once felt isolated now stand together as a force that lawmakers cannot ignore.

Annie Farmer, abused by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at 16, spoke to the transformative power of solidarity for CNN:

Every time a large group gathers, it completely changes the dynamic. It moves us from feeling fearful to feeling like we are feared. We have power together.

That power has reshaped the national conversation. Survivors have spoken out in interviews, written bestselling memoirs, stood before cameras, and produced public service announcements urging citizens to demand action. Their voices became a chorus too loud to drown out.

And on Tuesday, they saw results.

“Words will never ever be able to describe this day,” survivor Rina Bensky said. “We just feel like we never have gotten the win, and we got the win. And that feels so good.”

Toward a more transparent, just future

The release of the Epstein files will not erase what happened. But it will illuminate the systems that enabled abuse, reveal the failures of institutions entrusted with protection, and — critically — begin to restore trust through transparency.

This moment is proof that justice is not simply an abstract ideal. It is something that can be fought for, shaped, and won.

For all survivors—of Epstein, of other abusers, of every form of sexual exploitation—this victory affirms a truth long denied: your voices matter, and when we stand together, even the most powerful cannot keep the truth hidden.