The topic of Sexual assault has been prominent in the news cycle lately, thanks largely to the Kavanaugh-Ford hearing and the resurgence of the #meToo movement. During the Kavanaugh-Ford hearing, calls to sexual assault hotline spiked by a whopping 201 percent.
“The focus of the news cycle on sexual assault has been really challenging and, for many individuals, triggering,” said a spokeswoman for a sexual violence prevention group.“
“I think many people woke up to the reinforcement of what has always been their intuition: That you won’t be believed, you will be mocked, and that your own personal health is better preserved by keeping it to yourself,” said Franke, who is the director of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law.”
If Ford’s testimony stirred up painful or traumatic memories, there are places you can turn for help, including:
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) staffs a National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline that connects callers with trained specialists in their area. The toll-free number is 800-656-HOPE (4673). Live chats are also available.
• Loveisrespect, formerly the National Dating Abuse Helpline, fields phone calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 866-331-9474. Help is also offered via text messages (text LOVEIS to 22522) and through online chats.
First panel and rough doodles for the next ghostbully comic! This bully sure poops a lot! 💩👻. The story and artwork is Inspired by the real life bullying activities of Lior Nagola.
This article from the ACLU offers great advice for victims of abuse who decide to speak out and tell their stories. Here are some of their tips. For the full article please scroll to the bottom of the post.
“Many lawyers say they’ve seen a spike in defamation lawsuits in recent years. And in the past two months, I have received more than a half-dozen calls from women who were threatened for telling their stories.”
”These threats are real, and are designed to force the victims back into silence. But there are many ways to minimize or limit these legal risks.”
”First, and foremost, if you’re telling the truth, you shouldn’t be sued for defamation. Truth is an absolute protection for American libel defendants since the historic Zenger case in 1735.”
”Depending on your state, victims who speak out against sexual harassment may have the benefits of a strong law deterring abusive, retaliatory lawsuits, which are often called SLAPPs (“strategic lawsuits against public participation”). These lawsuits are used to silence and intimidate critics by burdening them with the cost of legal defense. Anti-SLAPP laws allow someone being sued for defamation to move to strike the case because it involves speech on a matter of public concern. They also require plaintiffs to present evidence that they would prevail in a lawsuit. This can offer protections for #MeToo victims, including dismissals of cases early in the proceedings and the awarding attorneys’ fees for meritless cases.”
On September 15th at around 7am, I received a phone call from a NO CALLER ID and subsequently a voicemail was left in my inbox.
Here’s a transcript of the voicemail:
“Uhm – yes good morning uhm Mr. Gur-ghee-roldini – inaudible – from the 9th precinct, we have a gentleman in our precinct claiming that you have been harassing him over the phone. I’m just calling you to discuss the matter. I would advise you not to uhm call him anymore and refrain from making any threats to him, he doesn’t, you know he doesn’t appreciate the uhm harassment. All right so if you have any questions you call the 9th Precinct of New York City 2124777813. You don’t have to call me back but I just would advice that you stop harassing this gentleman because you could wind up getting arrested if you continue, okay? Have a good day and if you have any questions you can call the 9th precinct in regards. Best, take care bye-bye…”
It goes without saying that I haven’t been harassing or threatening anyone over the phone, and actually I haven’t been in contact with Lior Nagola for at least two months, and therefore the report he filed is without a doubt false and its sole purpose is to harass me. Unfortunately this is a common tactic abusive individuals use to intimidate their victims into silence.
I called the 9th Precinct to let them know that this was not the first time Lior Nagola had harassed me by having officers contact me in regards to false claims. Back in July he falsely claimed to police officers that I had locked him out of my NYC apartment, when actually I had been living in California for months, and he had suddenly left the apartment in June and had given his keys to Monika.
We aren’t scared of telling our story and we hope to inspire victims out there to go public with their experiences as well. Remember kids, bullying, harassment and intimidation are unacceptable. Calling out this behavior is the only way to prevent it from happening again.
LIOR NAGOLA 
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