Pressley Continues to Call for Full, Public Congressional Hearing to Center Survivors, Shed Light on their Stories

BOSTON – In response to pressure from Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), a member of the House Oversight Committee and a survivor of sexual abuse, the Committee will be holding a closed-door roundtable on Tuesday, September 2 to hear from survivors of the unconscionable exploitation by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their co-conspirators. The Congresswoman is continuing her push for a full, transparent and public Congressional hearing that centers survivors and their experiences. 

As a survivor of sexual abuse herself, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has been a dedicated advocate for survivors’ justice and has led committee Democrats in calling for a full Congressional hearing to ensure survivors’ firsthand accounts are heard.

“If we are to hold powerful abusers to account, we must center the voices they tried to silence. This upcoming roundtable is a step toward the healing, accountability, and transparency survivors deserve. To the survivors who are stepping forward to share their stories and to those who continue to hold their stories close: thank you for your strength. I see you, your experiences are real, and I am so sorry for what you went through,” said Congresswoman Pressley in a statement today.

“I strongly encourage all of my Oversight colleagues to join this roundtable and provide the survivors the space to share their stories and be heard with the respect and dignity they deserve. But justice delayed is justice denied. I continue to demand a full and public Congressional hearing to ensure their testimony is documented in the Congressional Record and shared transparently with the public. And as the Oversight Committee continues its investigation, I continue to demand the release of the full, unredacted Epstein files with the names of survivors protected.”

Rep. Pressley has led the demand for a hearing with survivors as the Committee has continued its investigation and after the Congresswoman successfully helped pass a motion by Ranking Member Robert Garcia and Congresswoman Summer Lee to force the Committee to subpoena the Epstein files.

In recent interviews, Rep. Pressley described why her work to subpoena the Epstein files is deeply personal to her.

Throughout her time in Congress, Rep. Pressley has been a champion for justice for survivors of sexual violence and reproductive freedom.

In July 2024, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act of 2024. In June 2024, Rep. Pressley renewed her calls for accountability and survivor-focused solutions following the damning reports of a toxic work environment at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  In June 2024, Rep. Pressley also sent a letter to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) requesting information about the botched closure of FCI Dublin, abuse of women while they were being transferred to other facilities, and BOP’s management of investigations into the staff sexual misconduct and abuse at FCI Dublin and other federal BOP facilities.

Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of H.R. 5388, legislation that would prevent the Secretary of Education from rolling back Title IX protections for survivors, as well as H.Res. 560, a resolution calling for an impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, following reporting on new allegations of sexual misconduct committed by the Associate Justice.

In April 2019, following the passage of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, Rep. Pressley issued a statement honoring her mother, Sandra Pressley, a survivor of domestic violence. Rep. Pressley is also the lead co-sponsor of an amendment to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that would establish the first-ever grant program dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, which passed the House of Representatives in March 2021.

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