Jessica E. Mirandais the Hamilton County auditor, a former Ohio state representative and House Democratic whip, a small-business owner, and a longtime advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence.
I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and I was raped when I was a child at the age of 15.
Now, as an adult, I understand personally what it means to be a victim of a crime because I am a survivor of both these heinous acts.
It took me decades to say this publicly, but I told my story because silence is the very thing that protects perpetrators.
Behind every statistic is a human being trying to heal under circumstances we didn’t choose for ourselves. Unfortunately, Ohioans must face the bitter reality of what our laws lack
if they choose to seek justice.
Abusers count on our silence. We must break the stigma that has harmed families for generations.
My lived experience followed me into the Ohio Statehouse. I am grateful it did. Lived experience is not a liability in leadership. It can be one of leadership’s greatest assets.
That is why the political rhetoric we are witnessing in Ohio deserves a larger conversation about what we normalize and what we expect of the people seeking to govern us.
Dr. Amy Acton has spoken publicly about surviving childhood abuse, including sexual abuse.
Her opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, characterized her political message as having “no vision” other than to “complain about whatsomeone else did to her.”
The government we elect is the government we deserve. pic.twitter.com/l9Dm2bxs1d
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) April 14, 2026
Ramaswamy doesn't understand that 'victim' isn't a bad word
Meanwhile, V-PAC,the super PAC supporting him, named “Victors, Not Victims,” has aired advertising using a decades-old medical disclosure involving therapy Acton sought following childhood sexual abuse.
Think about the message that sends: A child can survive sexual abuse, seek counseling, become a physician, and enter public service, only to have her trauma and decision to seek help used against her decades later.
That is misplaced shame. The shame belongs to the abuser, never the child. Seeking treatment should be encouraged, not turned into political ammunition.
According to the CDC, at least one in four girls and one in 20 boys experience childhood sexual abuse, figures the agency cautions underestimate its prevalence. These children deserve leaders who understand the stakes.
There is another word I refuse to surrender as an insult: victim.
Someone committed a crime against me. That made me a victim, and I survived it. “Victim” describes what someone else did to me. “Survivor” describes what I did afterward. Neither makes me weak.
Ramaswamy has said, “Hardship is sometimes not a choice. Victimhood is a choice.” He has also acknowledged that people can have legitimate reasons to have been victimized. That distinction matters. People can be victims of crimes and still be resilient, successful human beings. I know because I am one. I got help, and I am healing.
Being victimized and becoming victorious are not mutually exclusive. Acknowledging harm is not surrendering to it. Telling the truth about trauma can be how people reclaim their power and how lawmakers understand the need for care and justice.
“Victors, Not Victims” creates a false choice. It disregards the strength so many survivors fought tooth and nail to achieve.
Ramaswamy spreading shameful lesson
In the Ohio House, I advocated for the Hidden Predator Act to eliminate statutes of limitations for survivors, worked alongside hundreds of survivors of Boy Scouts abuse, and helped pass historic legislation eliminating Ohio’s spousal rape exemption.
My experiences did not make me less capable of legislating. They made consequences impossible to ignore.
The Center for Effective Lawmaking ranked me the most effective Democratic lawmaker in the Ohio House for the 2023-2024 General Assembly. Lived experience brought perspective, empathy, and urgency to my work.
Imagine the survivor watching our politics today: a child without words for what is happening, a teenager considering telling someone, or an adult finally asking for help after 30 years of silence.
They should hear this from Ohio’s leaders: You deserve help. If you cannot access it, we will work to change that. When you are ready to speak, we should be ready to listen and change archaic laws that stand between survivors and justice.
There is zero shame in therapy. There is zero shame in surviving.
Campaigns come and go. How we speak about survivors reaches far beyond an election. Politicians do not get to decide whether we qualify as victims or victors. We know what we lived through. We can be both.
Survivors of Ohio: take back your power.
Jessica E. Miranda is the Hamilton County auditor, a former Ohio state representative and House Democratic whip, a small-business owner, and a longtime advocate for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and sexual violence. A survivor herself, she has used her lived experience in public service to advocate for stronger protections, accountability and justice for survivors.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: I was sexually abused as a kid. Vivek Ramaswamy thinks I'm weak | Column
