From One Survivor to Another

I Would Like You to Know My Name (trigger warning: rape, murder)

feminally:

August 9, 2011

How My Life Changed After That Night in South Park

by JENNIFER HOPPER

My name is Jennifer Hopper, and I am the survivor of the South Park attacks of July 19, 2009. My family calls me Jenny. My friends call me Jen. And my late partner, Teresa Butz, often called me J-Hop. For the past two years, I have been known as “the surviving victim of the South Park rapes and murder,” or simply as “Butz’s partner.” And for the most part, I have been grateful for the protective bubble given to me by the media. But I am now ready to be known in a new way. At first, I was afraid to be known more fully. Over time, it became more about protecting my professional life. Most recently, I felt that revealing my identity might somehow cloud the focus of the trial of Isaiah Kalebu, the man who on July 1 was found guilty of entering uninvited, as we slept, into the home that Teresa and I shared in South Park, where he raped us, murdered Teresa, and attempted to murder me. It didn’t matter who I was, I thought as I went through this process. I was known by name to my family and my friends, but anonymous to the general public, and that was fine. The only thing that mattered was what had happened. Who was lost. Today, at 38, I find myself craving to have my identity back.

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This is probably the most amazing thing I’ve read all week. This woman is amazing.

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    People like this are what make humanity worthwhile -No, make humanity great. People like Jennifer Hopper show us what...

12. mooncuphugs reblogged this from feminally and added:

    I was so moved by this. trigger warnings for rape and murder.

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    This made me sob. She is so strong.

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18. unlubricated-anal-sex reblogged this from fromonesurvivortoanother and added:

    I was so moved by this.

19. fromonesurvivortoanother reblogged this from feminally and added:

    This is probably the most amazing thing I’ve read all week. This woman is amazing.

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    Okay, I am tearing up

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