27-02-2025
Hadley Duvall's courage to confront sexual assault trauma inspired millions
Just four years ago Hadley Duvall, 23, had every intention of leaving her trauma and her life as sexual assault survivor in her past.
But when the opportunity came to share her story to advocate for sexual assault victims and reproductive rights for women, she never hesitated. Even when it meant speaking to millions of Americans at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024.
Duvall's courage and selflessness has earned her recognition as the Kentucky honoree for USA TODAY'S Women of the Year.
Her pure grit began with a simple "yes" after four-minute phone call in July 2023 when Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's office asked if she'd film an ad against his opponent in the election, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. At the time, Cameron opposed allowing abortion exceptions for rape and incest. Duvall endured nearly a decade of sexual abuse from her stepfather, and became pregnant at the age of 12 after he raped her. That pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, but she began speaking out on social media about her experience when the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
After Beshear won re-election, Hadley continued sharing her message as part of President Joe Biden's campaign for re-election and later for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Now that the election is over, she continues to help women access the health care they need in the post-Dobbs v. Jackson world.
The following interview has been lightly edited for context and clarity.
Hadley Duvall: This is way more than politics. This is reality. Growing up, I didn't know who the president was and what Congress was, but I was still going through the abuse. I didn't know what laws were in place, and I didn't even know what Roe v. Wade was, but I was still being abused. That didn't change. It's not political for a lot of people. We are not the ones who made it political. Survivors are not the ones who made it political, and we're the ones paying the price of it being political.
Duvall: I am working on some community healing … I am just still trying to make sure that the community of survivors and allies and women just know that we are all still here. Just because the election is over doesn't mean we lost our strength. We didn't lose our resilience. We didn't lose our team. We didn't even lose Kamala Harris — we still have her. We still have so many amazing leaders. We still have the community that we built. Nobody can take that from us, and we can't let anyone take that from us. ... There will always be work to be done and you can take a break and that work is still going to be there whenever you're recharged. So we're recharging and then showing people that this is still our fight. It was still going to be our fight, even if the election went another way. So now we just have to strategize, get our plan and stick together.
Duvall: I was at a campaign event in Owensboro and someone came up to me who worked for New Beginnings Sexual Assault Support Service. I went through there for my advocacy stuff, for the forensics, and the legal aid and everything (after the abuse.) And they said that after my ad dropped, that my name turned their door into a revolving door. So many people were reporting abuse.
The prosecutor who handled my case also reached out to me and said there have been so many people just finding their voice (after the ad), not just in Kentucky, but everywhere. Knowing that someone can sit at home and watch me on their phone or TV, and they can feel the realness. Not only feel it, but get up and then take their power back. I couldn't think of anything that would make me say I'm more proud.
Duvall: To me, courage is you when have the smallest bit of doubt, whether it's from you or from somebody else, but you do it anyways. Even if you hesitate. Even if your voice shakes when you do it. You're still there doing it.
Maggie Menderski is a reporter for The Courier Journal in Louisville, which is part of the USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hadley Duvall is USA TODAY'S Women of the Year Kentucky honoree
