This Opinion Editorial by Clove Alliance CEO Tracey Noe Slach was originally published with the Country Herald on February 13, 2026.

The release of the Epstein files was framed as a moment of transparency. What it’s made most clear is how survivors are continually being failed.

I have spent over a decade working alongside survivors of sexual violence: listening to their stories, supporting their healing, and advocating for systems that prioritize safety and dignity. From that perspective, the Epstein files do not represent progress, but a painful reminder of how often survivors are asked to pay the price of speaking out and are rarely repaid with justice.

The files were released haphazardly. Inadequate redactions lead to the exposure of confidential victim information, identities, and nude images that likely include minors. People who never named themselves publicly and entrusted officials with their most traumatizing stories have been revealed against their will. For survivors everywhere, this all sends a chilling message: even years later, your dignity, privacy, and safety may not be protected. Trust—already fragile for many survivors—was broken again.

Compromising survivors in the name of transparency is not just an irresponsible mistake; it is harm repackaged.

Equally troubling is what the release did not include. As I write this, the files remain incomplete as millions of pages are still being withheld. The full scope of Epstein’s trafficking network remains shrouded. This directly conflicts with what survivors have long called for and what Congress itself has directed: meaningful transparency paired with accountability. Survivors have consistently asked not for spectacle, but for answers—who enabled abuse, who ignored it, and what is being done to prevent it from happening again.

Aren’t you asking the same things? It’s time to ask it loudly.

The documents raise serious concerns about abuse, exploitation, and institutional failure. Yet releasing these files without clearly demonstrating that abuses are being fully investigated or that accountability is being pursued at every level leaves survivors with little more than retraumatization. There seems to be universal acknowledgement that harm was done, yet justice remains elusive.

This is a familiar pattern. Survivors are told that speaking out is necessary for the greater good, yet they are the ones who pay the price—emotionally, psychologically, and sometimes physically, even with their lives—when systems fail to act responsibly.

Survivors should never have to choose between accountability and safety. Those are not competing values. In fact, true accountability depends on survivor safety. When survivors are truly protected, more people can come forward. When systems demonstrate real care and responsibility, trust has a chance to grow.

This moment matters to survivors in every community, including right here at home. At Clove Alliance, we see firsthand how national news reverberates locally with the survivors we serve. Headlines don’t stay abstract. They show up in

counseling sessions, on crisis hotline calls, and in the quiet fears survivors carry about whether they will be believed or protected if they speak out.

So where do we go from here?

First, we must push policymakers. I urge you to contact your elected representatives and ask pointed questions because I doubt you are satisfied with where things stand, and with the only accomplice ever charged currently seeking a presidential pardon. Ask: How are survivors being protected and sloppy redactions being remediated? Why are millions of pages of evidence still withheld without explanation? What concrete steps are being taken to ensure accountability?

Second, we all have a role to play. That includes resisting the urge to speculate, share survivors’ details, or treat trauma as political fodder. Accountability is not advanced by amplifying harm.

Finally, survivors need to know they are not alone. Check in on the ones in your life. If news coverage feels overwhelming or triggering, support is available. At Clove Alliance, we provide many free, confidential services for survivors of sexual violence, including counseling and a 24/7 hotline.

Transparency should never come at the expense of survivors’ well-being, and shame on anyone who wrongly pits these two ideals against each other. If we truly want justice, we must demand systems that protect those who have already endured too much. Learn more about Clove Alliance and survivor support services at www.clovealliance.org.

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This opinion editorial was originally published with the Country Herald on February 13, 2026.