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For some survivors of abuse by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the consequences of coming forward have extended well beyond the original trauma. Treatment, physical recovery, lost work and the cost of public advocacy have created continuing financial pressure.
Danielle Bensky, who is advocating for accountability, said she wants what she described as a normal existence: owning a house, having a dog and no longer having to fight the government while repeatedly confronting her own abuse.
The price of treatment
Bensky said she is uninsured, although a mental health fund created after a settlement between an investment bank and authorities in the US Virgin Islands covers her mental health treatment. She said physical therapy for a post-traumatic injury costs about $200 per visit, limiting her to no more than two appointments a month. Yoga costs her roughly $250 monthly, she said.
Other survivors described similar gaps between the care they believe they need and what they can afford. Jess Michaels said a doctor who understands her experience is expensive and often not covered by insurance. She said she currently cannot afford that care.
Michaels also described long-term health problems in her own experience, including gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, immune-system and endocrine issues that she associated with post-traumatic stress and related strain. These are her reported experiences, not a general medical conclusion about every survivor.
Annie Farmer, who testified against Maxwell at Maxwell’s 2021 trial, said she spent many thousands of dollars on therapy from 2019 until the near-present. She can now receive therapy money from the Virgin Islands mental health fund.
Advocacy can also mean lost income
Survivors said the work of seeking accountability brings its own expenses. Bensky said she has taken time away from employment for advocacy and encountered roadblocks, including claims that some employers view survivors as “too political.” She also paid to travel to the State of the Union address and to speak at a press conference hosted by Representative Ayanna Pressley.
Farmer said she has not worked this year because advocacy has taken over her life. Michaels said the stress of advocacy contributed to a deterioration in her health over the past year. Even when travel is covered, she said, practical costs such as dog sitting can add $175 to $200 a day.
Survivors praised World Without Exploitation for financial assistance with advocacy, while emphasizing that public work can remain costly even with that support.
Julie Roginsky said people who come forward may face lasting professional and personal consequences, including people refusing to offer them opportunities. She encourages survivors to speak out but described the possible costs as potentially “brutal.”
A proposed route to compensation
Democratic Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Teresa Leger Fernández and Deborah Ross introduced legislation this week that would create a judicial-branch restitution fund for survivors of sexual violence whose rights were violated by the federal government. The proposal would include survivors of abuse by Epstein and Maxwell.
Pressley said the combination of financial burdens and mental and physical trauma can be debilitating. She said the proposed Survivors’ Rights Restitution Act would provide accountability and compensation.
That proposal is not immediate relief. The fact sheet describes passage by both chambers of Congress and approval by Donald Trump as unlikely in the near future, making steadier financial support a longer-term possibility rather than a current source of help.
Compensation has also varied among survivors. Spencer Kuvin, chief legal officer of Goldlaw, said payments from compensation funds ranged from tens of thousands of dollars to millions, depending on the severity and effects of the abuse. Michaels said she received only “a fraction of a fraction of a fraction” of what her attorney said similar sexual-assault cases unrelated to Epstein might receive.
The accounts point to a practical reality of recovery: financial stability can be part of healing, yet treatment, employment and advocacy may all be disrupted by the same trauma survivors are trying to address.
AI tools were used to assist with the preparation of this article.
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