Sexual Assault Survivor Brings Her Story and Book to U of A

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Chessy Prout, author of the memoir I Have the Right To: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope, will speak at the University of Arkansas on Thursday, Oct. 24, as part of the annual One Book, One Community program. She will be joined by her co-author, Jenn Abelson, an investigative reporter currently with the Washington Post.

The event will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center. It will be free and open to the public.

Chessy Prout was a 15-year-old student at a prestigious New England boarding school in 2014 when she was sexually assaulted by Owen Labrie, a popular senior at the school. She reported the attack and Labrie was arrested and charged. The ensuing trial revealed a rape culture at the school that included a student “ritual” involving senior boys trying to “score” with younger girls before graduation.

A jury found Labrie guilty of five of nine charges, including three counts of misdemeanor sexual assault and a felony count of using a computer to "seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child" in order to commit a sexual assault. He was found not guilty of felony rape. When Chessy and her parents sued the school, the institution responded by threatening the teenager's anonymity.

Prout responded by going public with both her name and her story – on the Today show. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

In I Have the Right To, Prout tells her story again, in often wrenching detail – but she also looks forward in the book – advocating for a cultural change and a “Bill of Rights” for sexual assault survivors.

“The One Book, One Community committee was unanimous in selecting I Have the Right To,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, committee chair. “We looked at several books on this very timely subject, but we all agreed that this personal story should resonate with our student body and will help continue a very important discussion at the U of A and in our overall community. It’s more than a compelling story – it offers strategies for addressing the problem that engages everyone in that process.

“We hope that of our incoming freshmen will have an opportunity to read this book, and that faculty members will add it to their reading lists for the fall.”

The book’s title – and the “Bill of Rights” idea – were inspired by a documentary Prout saw about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Prout, her mother and younger sister began thinking about other rights worth fighting for, based on Prout’s experience. The idea grew into a social media campaign, with statements such as:

• #IHaveTheRightTo say NO and be HEARD.
• #IHaveTheRightTo be called a survivor, not an “alleged victim” or “accuser”.
• #IHaveTheRightTo find my voice and to use it when I am ready.
• #IHaveTheRight to not be shamed and bullied into silence.
• #IHaveTheRightTo be happy, sad, upset, angry, and inspired anytime during the process of my healing without being judged.
• #IHaveTheRightTo not be isolated by the crime against me or by people who want to shame me.
• #IHaveTheRightTo name what happened to me because being sexually assaulted is never excusable or “complicated.” There is no perfect victim.

As part of the One Book, One Community program Prout will speak at the Fayetteville Public Library’s Gathering of the Groups on Friday, Oct. 25. A number of panel discussions and community events are also being planned around Prout’s visit. For more updates and information about the work of the committee, and the opportunities to participate in the activities on campus and in the community, visit onebook.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.