Survivor Giving Circle

Thank you so much for sticking with me during my healing journey. I have only been able to stay alive for the past six years because of your support. Every donation means so much to me. Please help me to survive and keep fighting. —Jenny

Please help queer Filipina survivor Jenny stay alive after a brutal assault that left her seriously injured, in debilitating pain and struggling to live. This request is especially crucial in light of COVID-19. We are asking our friends, comrades, and allies to join in a monthly giving circle to help Jenny survive and get the medical care she needs.

Please DONATE and select “Make this a recurring donation” to support her with monthly donations - even if it’s just $5! Everything helps!

In August 2017, Jenny was raped in her own home by a bodywork practitioner who was supposed to help her with a work injury. This assault caused severe spinal nerve damage that she is still struggling to get medical treatment for. Since then, her whole life has been upended: she had to flee her apartment in case he came back, lost her ability to work, and now suffers from extreme, debilitating pain. 

For the past three years, Jenny has struggled with burning nerve pain that radiates out from her spine to her legs, feet, arms, and hands. Once a lively freelance photographer, avid runner, and fashion enthusiast, Jenny is now mostly bedridden and homebound. She is unable to sit, stand, or walk for long, and has thus been unable to work. Though Jenny has been seeking medical answers, her pain has not improved and her recovery has progressed very slowly. As anyone who has struggled with chronic pain knows, trying to find relief and compassion in our broken medical system can feel impossible. Recovering from the trauma of sexual assault is an enormous task; having to survive the daily physical reminders of your assault through debilitating injuries that have put your entire life on hold is excruciating. The coronavirus pandemic has obviously made things worse. Prior to the outbreak, Jenny was slowly making progress towards recovery. That progress has largely been derailed by increased financial precarity, less access to medical care, and further isolation.

Jenny has relied on the charity of strangers to meet her basic needs like rent. But because she used her online presence to ask for help and speak up about her experience, Twitter MRA’s (Men’s Rights Activists) started a targeted harassment campaign accusing her of scamming. They encouraged people to report her to the police and FBI, doxxed her to the point of posting her mother’s address online, took a photo of her departed father’s grave and posted it, and photoshopped her face onto pornographic images. The violence she’s experienced online, rooted in racism, misogyny and ableism, has only amplified her trauma and fear.

As a survivor, Jenny has been met with victim-blaming and harassment. As a queer person, she cannot turn to her biological family for support. Prior to her assault, she had only worked freelance jobs, which currently excludes her from accessing disability or unemployment benefits. As a now poor and disabled person, she struggles to afford any care, and when she gets it, is treated as disposable.

Recovering from rape includes astronomical costs for therapy, medical care, lost work days, etc. & according to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), the lifetime cost per victim is $122,461. Many absorb these costs in silence and invisibility.

Our goal is to have a giving circle that can assist Jenny each month with $3800. Please DONATE and select “Make this a recurring donation” to support her with monthly donations. This would cover the following:

• Rent/Utilities/Bills - $1300/month

• Health Insurance Premium - $590/month

• Physical Therapy - $110/session

• Chiropractor- $190/session

• Acupuncture - $90/session

• Medications - $200/month

• Therapy - $140/session 

• Fundly - 7.9% charge (3800 x 0.079 = 300)

• $$$ - doctor’s visits and testing (cost of tests will vary)

Thank you so much for your help.