‘It’s Time for the Truth’: Epstein Survivors’ New PSA Demands Answers From Justice Department

In what they called “the most important ad you will see on Super Bowl Sunday,” World Without Exploitation, a coalition working to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation, released a powerful public service announcement with survivors of serial sex abuser and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, calling on Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice for full transparency and the full release of the Epstein files.

In the video, which quickly went viral, the survivors appear with photos of their younger selves at the age when they were abused by Epstein and Maxwell, with black boxes over their mouths to symbolize “redactions.” They state, “After years of being kept apart, we’re standing together,” reiterating their commitment to justice and accountability, as well as demanding the full truth of Epstein’s criminal network.

When I asked Lauren Hersh, national director of World Without Exploitation, why the group created the new PSA, she explained, “We were leading into a week that was going to be really huge with Bondi testifying before the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.” Hersh also noted that on Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández introduced legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil suits related to sexual abuse and trafficking. Known as Virginia’s Law, it is named for Virginia Giuffre, a prominent victim-rights advocate and central accuser of Epstein whose legal battles exposed global trafficking networks before she died by suicide in April 2025. “It was really a dream of Virginia Giuffre to eliminate the statute of limitations for adult trafficking survivors. So we knew we were dealing with a huge week, and we wanted to make sure that at the center of every conversation were survivor voices. We felt the best way to do that — especially because there’s just been so much noise in the media and so much chaos in the country — was to make sure that we put together a second PSA that was similar in look and feel to our first PSA, but that had a different call to action.”

The Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law November 19, 2025, and on January 30, the DOJ released roughly 3 million files, the largest batch to date. But those files were riddled with problems: Survivors’ names, identifying information, and photos were exposed, while many perpetrators’ names and faces were redacted. Survivors are demanding to know why, as well pushing for release of the 3 million more files that the DOJ has withheld.

They’re hoping to get some answers on Wednesday, when Bondi appears before the House Judiciary Committee. This comes on the heels of the news that during a virtual appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday, Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions, but said she’d “speak fully and honestly” if President Trump grants her clemency.

In a letter sent to Bondi on Monday, signed by 24 Epstein survivors, they called the redactions and disclosures in the recent release “reckless and dangerous” and stated, “In recent days, senior Justice Department officials have suggested that the latest release of Epstein-related files represents transparency, and that survivors should now have the closure we deserve…. We must be clear: This release does not provide closure. It feels instead like a deliberate attempt to intimidate survivors, punish those who came forward, and reinforce the same culture of secrecy that allowed Epstein’s crimes to continue for decades.”

They went on to say, “We are asking the Department to release the evidence that already exists, to explain why millions of pages remain withheld, and to stop treating accountability as optional when the perpetrators are wealthy and well-connected.”

As for what survivors want to see at Wednesday’s hearing, Hersh told me, “They’re hoping to get to the truth, to be really simple about it. They are hoping that Attorney General Bondi gets up and testifies and explains why it is that only half of the documents have been released up until this point, that she acknowledges that there are a whole host of other perpetrators who caused a tremendous amount of harm to numerous survivors. And we also hope that she apologizes for releasing victims’ names, identifying information, and some really, really compromising photos that put victims and survivors right in harm’s way, especially survivors who have managed for the last 30 years to remain Jane Does. Those people have now been exposed, and there’s been a tremendous amount of harm that’s happened to them.”

The current outrage over the lack of transparency around the Epstein files, from both survivors and the general public across the political spectrum, marks a critical inflection point. And it’s not just important for the nearly 1,000 survivors of Epstein — it matters for all survivors of violence and sexual abuse across the globe.

V (formerly Eve Ensler), founder and artistic director of V-Day, a global activist movement that has been working for 28 years to end violence against all women, gender-expansive people, girls, and the Earth, told me, “We know that one out of three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. I was raped as a child, and I can tell you how many years it took me to get my brain and my spirit and my body back. It took me most of my life. That's exactly what child rape does to us. And it’s not accidental. It’s a way of extinguishing our power and extinguishing our sexuality and extinguishing our autonomy before it’s even begun.”

This could be a watershed moment that helps make strides for all survivors being heard and getting the justice they deserve — as well as for creating awareness and taking steps to prevent these abuses from happening in the first place.

“In every sex trafficking case, there are people who are purchasing other people, the sex buyers who are fueling this market,” Hersh said. “In this particular instance, you have a web of powerful men who were having sex in exchange for all sorts of stuff. Without sex buyers, there would be no sex trafficking. So if we’re really serious about ending exploitation, we have to be targeting the demand.”

She added, “I think there are so many lessons about making sure that we’re listening to the voices of survivors because, in this particular situation, it is those survivors who have really moved the needle and got us to the place that we’re at right now, where it’s starting to feel like the earth is shaking, and it’s starting to feel like all of those powerful people are taking a moment because there is a moment of reckoning happening. So listening to survivor voices is critically important.”

As for what is needed at this moment, V said, “What we need now is complete transparency. We need the rest of those 3 million files released and unredacted. We need, of course, to protect the identity of the survivors. We need to know who did what. And every single one of those people not only has to lose their jobs, they have to go to trial, and if they are guilty, they have to go to jail. We have to see justice here, and the same justice that operates for those who are not rich and powerful has to operate for this rogue billionaire class.”

In their letter to Bondi, the survivors state, “The Department’s actions to-date mirror the very dynamics Epstein relied upon: Powerful actors protected by secrecy, while victims are exposed, scrutinized, and made to bear the consequences. When you appear before the House Judiciary Committee on February 11, we urge you to address these failures directly and commit to the full release of every legally required document with survivors protected and perpetrators fully revealed.”

Whether any answers come out of Wednesday’s hearing remains to be seen. “I wouldn’t say I’m particularly hopeful about the hearing,” said Hersh. “But I am extremely hopeful about this moment. I feel so inspired when I watch these survivors come together and really push a boulder up a mountain. And they have been told time and time again that this is impossible, this is never going to change, nothing's ever going to move. And Andrew is no longer Prince Andrew; he’s just plain Andrew. We were told the discharge petition was never going to pass; we got it passed. We were told the Epstein Files Transparency Act was never going to pass; we got it passed, we got a presidential signature on it. I feel incredibly hopeful that these women, in this moment, are going to fight like hell to move the needle. And if they don’t get the result they want on Wednesday, you can be sure they will be back in the room strategizing Thursday morning, coming up with a new plan and doing additional things to make sure that we are continuing to push the boulder up the mountain.”

For people who want to support the survivors’ calls for transparency, justice, and accountability, World Without Exploitation has started a petition to Attorney General Bondi. “The other thing that I think is really important and cannot be missed in this conversation,” said Hersh, “is it’s not just the Epstein survivors who are watching all of this. It’s every survivor. They are taking cues from what’s transpiring right now. They’re seeing that the Justice Department has failed these specific survivors. And I think it’s going to ultimately cause a terrible chilling effect to other survivors who are going to say, ‘Why should I report? I can’t trust the government with my information, and I can’t trust the government to hold those who caused harm to me accountable.’ So I really think the public needs to exert pressure on the government right now to right this wrong. It’s really time for a course correction.”

Last week, President Trump suggested that the country should move on from Epstein. Given the public outrage and the determination of these survivors, that seems unlikely — at least not until they, and those who stand in solidarity with them, see justice fully served. As they write in their letter, “This is not over. We will not stop until the truth is fully known and every enabler and perpetrator is held accountable.”