Jennifer Elmore

Jennifer Elmore | Special Courage Award
Survivors United
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Jennifer Elmore is a survivor, who sought justice and healing by standing up to her father, a U.S. Army two-star Major General after a childhood of sexual abuse. Ms. Elmore recounted her first memory of abuse, “I knew I was terrified, and this was very bad, and I was not to speak of what was occurring. It’s seared in my brain at 3.” 

Over the course of the next 15 years, over multiple moves through states and continents, the abuse escalated to rape and other acts of sexual violence. Unfortunately, her mother—despite writing letters verifying that she knew about the abuse—encouraged a culture of silence and shame throughout Ms. Elmore’s childhood and into adulthood. 

The road to justice has taken many years, and Ms. Elmore has shown remarkable perseverance and determination throughout the journey. She first reported the abuse over 5 years ago to Fort Bragg Army officials. As a result, six counts of rape and incest were filed, and Ms. Elmore was called to testify against her father in a Fort Meade military courtroom. Finally, being believed by the Army attorneys who prosecuted that case was extremely healing to her. 

Towards the end of the ordeal, the military’s highest appeals court changed course and found that a 5-year statute of limitations existed for sexual assaults that occurred in the military between 1986 and 2006. Despite this setback, Ms. Elmore remained determined to continue on her path to justice by helping others. 

Ms. Elmore helped to form Survivors United, an organization of military crime victim survivors advocating for changes in the way the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assault. She has testified before the Defense Advisory Committee appointed by Congress to assess the military’s response to the epidemic of sexual assault within its ranks and addressed multiple victim rights conferences. 

After 5 years of investigation and two separate criminal inquiries in the military and the Commonwealth of Virginia, her father pled guilty to aggravated sexual battery. 

Faced with the task of summarizing in a few pages a lifetime of violations, a culture of shame, and depression that had persisted through much of her adult life, Ms. Elmore reclaimed her power and life with her impact statement. Ms. Elmore felt finally vindicated by his admission of guilt and her ability to gain a voice in the process. She has become a voice of hope and change for other survivors.