The inspiring story of Amanda Nguyen is one you will surely want to remember having already accomplished more in her 30 years than most of us would dream to accomplish in a lifetime. An inspiration to women and men alike, Amanda is a civil rights activist, social entrepreneur, Nobel prize nominee, 2022 Times Women of the Year, and last but not least founder of Rise. She served the White House, Department of State, and NASA, and is currently an Astronaut-Scientist Candidate at the Astronautical Science Institute. 

While completing her final semester at Harvard University, Amanda was raped on campus. Like too many survivors of sexual assault and rape, Amanda’s trauma did not stop there and she then had to face the confusing and expensive criminal justice system to bring her attacker to justice. Encouraged by her own experience, Amanda went on to establish Rise which is responsible for the most successful legislative reform movement in US history. In 2016 she then went on to rewrite laws around how sexual violence is handled in the United States and helped unanimously pass the Survivor’s Bill of Rights Act of 2016.

The inspiring story of Amanda Nguyen does not stop here. More recently, Amanda worked with The United Nations to help bring to life an exhibit at the UN Headquarters in New York, ‘What Were You Wearing?‘. Giving a voice and platform to survivors of sexual assault, the exhibit features clothing worn by women and men at the time of their assault to shed a light on the irrelevance of the question that is often posed to victims when reporting it to the authorities or even to society in general.

“What we were wearing at the time of our attack was not an invitation for violence…did not cause the attack…[and] is irrelevant. By boldly answering the question and showing the world what we were wearing, we see an opportunity to open minds and shift attitudes about what sexual assault looks like.”

Amanda Nguyen

“I repeated my story numerous times that day, starting with local police and ending with staff from two different hospitals. The first question I was asked by almost every police officer and doctor was: what were you wearing?” 

Britney Lane

In 2022, Amanda also made her directorial debut at the Cannes Independent Film Festival winning Best Feature for her film ‘Everything I Ever Wanted To Tell My Daughter About Men’. A powerful story of a mother who traces her relationship history backwards, exploring the impacts of sexual assault on her choices and her relationship experiences from teen pregnancy to infidelity and addiction.

FOR HELP WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING HELPLINES

• RAPE CRISIS (UK) Whether it happened recently, or in the past, or you are not sure what happened we can help you: 0808 500 2222
• NSPCC (UK) Contact our helpline if you are worried about a child: 0808 800 5000
• NAPAC (UK) Supporting adult recovery from childhood abuse: 0808 801 0331
• SAMARITANS (UK) Call us any time, day or night. Whatever you’re going through, you can call us any time, from any phone for FREE: 116 123
• REFUGE (UK) Freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247