rape

URGENT! Ask Governor Jerry Brown to SIGN AB 1312 into LAW!

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

Ashamed that Jerry Brown hasn’t yet signed #AB1312, assigning rights to victims of sexual assault. The bill is just sitting on his desk, and we only have FOUR days to get him to sign it! I am one of the 11 million sexual assault survivors in California, and in the recent news of #Weinstein, we need to come together and not only support other victims, but provide free and low cost services. PLEASE call him at (916) 445-2841, tweet @JerryBrownGov, Facebook Governor Jerry Brown’s Office. and email the governor and demand that he SIGN AB 1312, the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights into law now! Thank you so much. Please see below:

Sample tweets:

I stand with sexual assault survivors and urge @JerryBrownGov to sign AB1312 Sexual Assaults Survivor Bill of Rights into law.

I urge @JerryBrownGov to sign the CA Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights AB1312 to grant basic rights to survivors @RiseNowUS

Join me and @RiseNowUS in urging @JerryBrownGov to sign AB1312 CA Sexual Assault Bill of Rights to provide basic protections to survivors.

Sample language for calls/emails:
Hello,
I am calling (writing) to voice my support for AB1312, the Sexual Assault Survivor’s’ Bill of Rights that just passed CA. I urge Governor Brown to sign.There are 11 million sexual assault survivors in California alone and I am calling to voice that this is a serious relevant issue. Brave survivors and hard working law enforcement officers deserve commonsense legal protections and clear procedures that ensure access to justice.
Thank you,

Chiaki Evaldsson’s Review of Washed Away: From Darkness to Light

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

Nikki DuBose is a mental health advocate, ambassador, public speaker and writer. She is also a former model who has experienced the dark side of the fashion industry. Her harrowing journey includes childhood abuse, addiction, self harm, rape, eating disorders, psychosis and various other mental health issues. It’s undoubtable a frightening read, but an important one.
We follow Nikki from childhood, through her years as a teenager and as an adult. Divided into chapters with focus on different themes, she provides us with an honest account of what was going through her head at the time and how she experienced it. It’s refreshing to read something so raw and sincere.

Read the full review at TheTrueSea.

On MLK Day, I stand for the abused and all marginalized groups

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

It’s been one of my life’s missions to fight for the rights of children who have been sexually abused, because, after all, I was abused, too. But I remember recently telling a friend and fellow survivor of child sexual abuse, while getting ready to speak at a rally at the New York State Capitol on The Omnibus Child Victims Act, that sometimes, advocating for our rights in modern times feels like fighting for freedom from slavery. And not that I would ever understand what being an African-American slave feels like, but I do understand what it’s like to be physically tormented, beaten, and sexually abused. Not to mention the fact that fellow advocates, Senators and Assemblymembers have been fighting to eliminate the statue of limitations for child sexual abuse in New York for eleven years now. Repeating the same legislative process, year after year, is exhausting to those of us who grew up knowing nothing but humiliation and shame. Many times we feel as though we have to beg, cry, scream, and plead for our basic human rights – rights that were stolen from us as children. Thankfully, with the help of Governor Cuomo this year, I believe that things will be different. I want so badly to believe, and I will continue to fight for change.

Read more on PsychCentral.

Feminine Collective – Sex, BDD & Self-Destruction

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

‘”The director of my agency…was in his…mid-fifties, and I was in my early twenties. It was very clear that if I slept with him…I would book more jobs, and if I didn’t, I wouldn’t work. I felt like, I felt like a whore.’ – Nikki DuBose
Former model turned author and activist, Nikki DuBose describes how she felt pressured to sleep with the director of her high profile agency to book prominent campaigns and magazines in the book trailer for her newly released, raw and inspiring memoir, Washed Away: From Darkness to Light.”

Read more on Feminine Collective.

Washed Away: From Darkness to Light Book Trailer

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

Buy Washed Away: From Darkness to Light now on Outskirts Press!

Dutch Grazia Interview June 2016

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

Voor schut
“Ik begon mijn modellencarrière op mijn vijftiende. Ik was zo blij. Het poseren en de creatieve kant van de mode-industrie vond ik geweldig. Jong als ik was, had ik nog geen flauw benul hoe het er in de modewereld echt aan toe gaat. Mijn eerste knauw kreeg ik toen mijn coach me tijdens een catwalktraining voor schut zette. Waar alle andere meisjes bij waren, trok ze ineens mijn shirt omhoog. Ze tikte op mijn buik en bitchte: ‘Jouw buik moet er net zo strak uitzien als die van de andere meiden. Ga naar huis om te trainen!’ Dat was de eerste openlijke aanval op mijn uiterlijk, iets wat in de modellenindustrie heel vaak voorkomt. De psychologische spelletjes die worden gespeeld, kunnen enorme psychische schade toebrengen. ”

Read more on Grazia.

 

People Magazine – Why Former Model Nikki DuBose is Backing a Bill to Fight Eating Disorders and Sexism in the Industry

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

“Nikki DuBose’s time in the modeling industry was anything but positive.

‘I experienced everything negative that you could imagine in the modeling industry,’ the former model, 31, tells PEOPLE. ‘I was raped in the modeling industry. I was sexually harassed. I had eating disorders which were exacerbated by the modeling industry, and I was pressured by the director of my agency about sleeping with him, and all of these things really triggered my mental health condition.'”

Read more on People.

The Stitch – Model Nikki DuBose Had A Secret

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

“Fashion Model Nikki Dubose had a secret. 40% of all fashion models have an eating disorder and she was one of them. She did everything she could to meet the impossible standards set by the fashion/modeling industry and paid the price with her health. She got out to save her life and has been an advocate for change ever since.”

Read more on The Stitch.

Huffington Post – I was Raped by a Photographer. Here’s Why You Should Care.

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

Trigger warning.

Models. Rape. Eating disorders. Sexual abuse. Mental health.

While all of the above are quick to grab attention, they are also quick to receive criticism because most people do not understand them. In my episode of Real Women Real Stories, and my upcoming memoir, Washed Away: From Darkness to Light, I talk about all of the above, because I was a successful model who experienced all of the dark issues you can imagine.

Read more on The Huffington Post.

India Times

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

“The world of showbiz attracts almost everyone. Come to think of it, what’s not to like? It has glamour, luxury and the best of all money! But do you ever wonder what lies behind this stunning scenario? Don’t we read a lot of cases of models, actors and fashion designers not being able to cope with failures and committing suicide or declaring bankruptcy? Many resort to dependency on drugs and alcohol to cope with the pressure. The picture doesn’t seem as rosy now, does it?
I became acquainted with one such case when I read about Nikki DuBose. A former model-turned-mental-health-activist, DuBose reached out to India times with her life story – one that can make even the toughest person shudder.”

Read more on India Times.

Find out the untold story of Nikki DuBose

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

My Survivor Story of Childhood Sexual Abuse — Peaceful Hearts Foundation

Posted on by Nikki DuBose

“I grew up in charming Charleston, South Carolina in the eighties and nineties. Its beautiful cobblestone streets were lined with gorgeous gardens and mansions that dated back well before the Civil War. At first glance, one would have not suspected that anything bad could have happened behind the wrought-iron gates and pastel-colored walls of the grand estates. But like all homes, each one holds a story, and ours was no different.

After the divorce, Momma and I moved into a modest, one-story home on a quiet street shaded by Spanish Moss trees. It was no mansion, but it was our dream, an escape into another world. I was only two, and Momma was nineteen, and more than she desired love, she wanted security. She soon found it in the arms of an older man who promised to love and protect us. Our home quickly expanded, and the idea of a ‘family’ was no longer a fantasy, it was real.”

Read more on Peaceful Hearts Foundation.