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'You mattered then and you matter now': UK alumna Ashley Judd speaks out about campus sexual abuse

Ashley Judd speaks at the National Press Club Headliners Luncheon in Washington, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Ashley Judd
/
AP
Ashley Judd speaks at the National Press Club Headliners Luncheon in Washington, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Actress and University of Kentucky alumna Ashley Judd is speaking out about sexual violence on campus, saying she know of assault survivors who attended the school when she was a student a member of a sorority.

Judd posted the online message amid a nationwide conversation about sexual assault on campus, sparked by allegations against men at Cornell University.

In the video, Judd says she knows of survivors whose stories never made headlines or received the attention they deserved at the time.

"We make a clear distinction between your sacred right to spiritual anonymity and the institutional silence of both our fraternity and the university that shielded the boys who raped you from accountability and denied you justice," she said.

Judd had this message for the survivors whose need for safety and protection, she said, went unmet.

"We are so sorry. You mattered then and you matter now. The institution may have forgotten you. We have always remembered you," she said.

In response, the University of Kentucky's Vice President for Student Success, Kirsten Turner, thanked Judd for speaking out, adding that "all survivors deserve to be believed and treated with compassion no matter how much time has passed."

In a statement, Turner said the school condemns all forms of interpersonal violence and it "has no place at the University of Kentucky."

The university is also spotlighting its investments in survivor support and increased access to advocacy and trauma-informed services, along with other resources.

Turner said the school will continue "working to build a culture where prevention, support, accountability and respect are shared responsibilities across our entire community."