“Two bubbly cheerleaders snuck out that night and really they never came back. The Paige and Daisy who left that night and the Paige and Daisy who were found the next morning were not the same girls.”
Daisy Coleman, a rape survivor who is known as an advocate and brave voice for other victims of sexual assault, has died by suicide at 23 years old. Her mother contacted authorities and requested a welfare check, but sadly Daisy was found dead on 4th August 2020.
Daisy is most notably recognised for her participation in a moving Netflix documentary entitled ‘Audrie and Daisy’, during which she spoke openly about her experience of rape, which occurred when she was just 14 years old, and the victim blaming she endured afterwards. In a statement posted on social media, Daisy said: “I have been living a life where I am constantly triggered for as long as I can remember… I can’t even remember the times where I wasn’t living in constant pain and dealing with panic attacks or flashbacks.”
In January 2012, Daisy and her 13 year old friend, Paige, attended a house party hosted by a popular school football player. While at the party, Daisy consumed alcohol and became intoxicated. This was the point when 17 year old Michael Barnett seized an opportunity to take advantage of Daisy and raped her. After the ordeal, Daisy was left incapacitated on her parent’s front porch in -5 degree weather, until she was found the next morning by her mother.
When questioned, Barnett admitted that he had engaged in sexual intercourse with Daisy, but denied that the sex was non-consensual. Paige, who was also sexually assaulted on the same night, confirmed that she had seen Barnett entering in and out of the room where Daisy lay “completely incoherent” on a bed. Although a medical examination concluded that Daisy had sustained vaginal tearing, Barnett was believed. He was able to evade any serious consequences for his actions. He received two years’ probation but was never convicted for the crime of rape.
Sickeningly, the Coleman family has arguably faced greater repercussions than the accused perpetrator. Both Daisy and Paige went on to face relentless verbal abuse from other people, both in-person and online. On social media platforms, they were called names such as “skanks”, “whores” and “liars”, and Daisy’s mother even lost her job due to the amount of media attention which the case attracted.
Nine years after the sexual attack on Daisy took place, she still suffered from persistent psychological torment, panic attacks and flashbacks to the rape. She also felt that she had to suppress her prolonged emotional agony in order to continue appearing as a pillar of strength to other survivors she was helping. Ultimately, like many other women who have been victimised by rapists, Daisy was failed by the criminal justice system and she was failed by others within society.
According to RAINN, an anti-sexual assault organisation, only 230 of every 1000 sexual assaults are reported to police. Out of these 230 reported cases, only 46 lead to arrests. Of these 46 arrests, approximately 10% are imprisoned - which is just 4.6 rapists. This means that, for every 1000 sexual assaults committed in the US, 995 perpetrators will walk free. The tragic end to Daisy’s short life should be a lesson learned by all who continue to engage in a culture of rape victim blaming.
