E52: I Have the Right to Fight Back | Laura Dunn on Saving Title IX, Survivor-Led Justice, and Running for Congress - Advocacy in Action

Send us Fan MailToday on Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by student interns Jonas Wahl and Kyleigh LeBoutillier, along with this week’s guest, Laura Dunn. Laura is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, survivor advocate, Congressional candidate, and the attorney who represented Chessy in her sexual assault case.Laura shares how her own experience of campus sexual violence led her away from prosecution and toward representing survivors directly, challenging institutional failures and reshaping civil rights law to center those who’ve been harmed.Laura explains that Title IX is no longer functioning as intended, and unpacks the recent Supreme Court decision that quietly gutted emotional-distress damages for many K-12 survivors. Laura explains how this shift has made many Title IX cases economically impossible for private attorneys to take on, and why she’s running for Congress to restore and strengthen protections for the next 50 years.Together, the group explores trauma-informed advocacy, the complexity of survivor-offender dynamics, and the importance of centering offenders’ choices rather than blaming survivors. Laura also lays out her platform: government accountability, affordability for everyday people, and thoughtful regulation of emerging technologies like AI and crypto to protect survivors and marginalized communities.They close with the powerful reminder, “I have the right to fight back,” which is an invitation for everyone - especially young people - to claim their power, know their rights, and step into leadership in any way they can.To learn more, visit lauradunnforcongress.comSupport the showAspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com