I read. I read a lot. But I can honestly say that the recently published memoir by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Nobody’s Girl, is perhaps the hardest-hitting book I have ever picked up.
It brought me to tears. At times I consciously grimaced and had to look away from the page. Yet overriding every other emotion was admiration. Admiration for the extraordinary courage of a woman who laid her soul bare, sharing details of deep personal violation, lifelong psychological scars, and one of the most disturbing catalogues of abuse of power and systemic injustice in modern times.
Nobody should ever attempt to minimise the severity or trauma experienced by Virginia, her “Survivor Sisters,” and the hundreds of thousands of people who have faced similar horrors – experiences that most of us, thank God, will only ever encounter second-hand.
And yet, is there a place to pause and reflect on what such stories reveal about courage? While the stakes are profoundly different, the principles they highlight are universal:
- the courage to speak truth to power
- the integrity to break systems of silence
- the moral responsibility to confront toxicity – wherever it exists, including in our own workplaces
Leadership, at its best, demands a willingness to listen, to face discomfort, to stand up for what’s right, and to create spaces where others feel safe enough to do the same.
Bravery doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it’s the quiet, steady voice that refuses to stay silent. In leadership, as in life, courage is the decision to speak up – to protect others, to challenge what’s wrong, and to do so even when silence would be easier. That’s the kind of courage that defines not just great leaders, but good people.