A Return to Softness: Finding Light at Defcon 4 By C.Kimberly Toms | September 3, 2025 After twelve years of living under duress due to crimes committed against me, and following my offender’s release in June and years of monthly hearings, I finally took a month to simply be quiet. This wasn’t vacation, it was necessity. […]
The Advocate’s Dilemma: Speaking Truth or Seeking Silence A reflection on the impossible choice between voice and perceived healing By C.Kimberly Toms | July 7, 2025 There’s a question that haunts many of us who have survived violent crime and chosen to speak about it: Are we supposed to get quieter as we get “better”? Are […]
The Sacred Trust: Why Prosecutors Must Properly Prepare Sexual Assault Victims to Testify By C.Kimberly Toms | July 5, 2025 In the hushed moments of a Wisconsin courtroom, after the jury had retired for lunch, the judge turned to me with a mocking tone and asked, “Why do you have a handful of paper clips?” Her […]
The Invisible Countdown: When a Violent Offender’s Release Catches You Off Guard By C.Kimberly Toms | July 1, 2025 Yesterday, I discovered that my rapist and persistent stalker was walking free. Not in thirty days, not next month, not next year—yesterday. After five years of believing I knew exactly when this moment would arrive, I learned […]
Letter to Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) By C.Kimberly Toms | June 26, 2025 The Honorable Tony EversGovernor of Wisconsin115 East State CapitolMadison, WI 53702 Dear Governor Evers, I am writing to bring to your immediate attention critical failures within Wisconsin’s justice system that are not only compromising survivor safety but creating conditions that may endanger Wisconsin […]
When Justice Fails Survivors: The Power of Small Victories By C.Kimberly Toms | June 18, 2025 After surviving a crime and enduring years of investigation, survivors enter the courtroom carrying more than evidence—they carry hope for validation, justice, and closure. These hopes often rest not just on the final verdict, but on smaller, seemingly procedural moments […]
RAINN Instagram Post Honoring CKT’s Journey By RAINN.org | May 26, 2025 🌟🗣️ The fight to STOP sexual violence starts with survivors and advocates like C. Kimberly Toms speaking TRUTH to POWER. Kimberly survived rape, stalking, harassment, and tech-enabled sexual abuse by a supervisory special agent in the U.S. Department of State. For 7 YEARS […]
The Role of Humility in a Return to Work After Violent Crime By C.Kimberly Toms | May 26, 2025 Returning to work after surviving violent crime is not a linear journey back to where you were before. It’s a complex process of rediscovering who you are now, what you’re capable of, and how the experience has […]
Unveiling My 40+ Years: Why I’m Done with Hiding My Experience in the Workplace By C.Kimberly Toms | May 20, 2025 For two decades, I’ve been telling a half-truth in my professional life. On every resume, LinkedIn profile, and job application, I’ve written the same carefully crafted phrase: “over 20 years of experience in marketing communications.” […]
Beyond the Courtroom: The Ongoing Reign of Terror from Empowered Offenders By C.Kimberly Toms | May 19, 2025 When the gavel falls and courtroom doors close, most people assume justice has been served and survivors can begin healing. For many victims of powerful offenders, however, this marks only the beginning of a new chapter of intimidation […]
The Unspoken Reality of Being a Victim Witness: What Media Commentators Don’t Understand By C.Kimberly Toms | May 5, 2025 Today, I found myself watching commentary about the P. Diddy (Sean Combs) federal trial in New York. The discussion centered around victim experiences in the court system, but something struck me immediately: none of these commentators […]
RAINN.org – Take Back Our Tech: Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse Excerpt from the original article at RAINN.org: Justice Like Lightning Survivor: C. Kimberly Toms The fight to STOP sexual violence starts with survivors and advocates like C. Kimberly Toms speaking truth to power. Kimberly survived rape, stalking, and tech-enabled sexual abuse by a supervisory special agent in […]
The Dark Web Economy: How Criminals Made Crime Shockingly Affordable By C.Kimberly Toms | April 14, 2025 In the shadows of the internet, there exists a marketplace where illegal services are packaged, priced, and sold with the same consumer-friendly approach as legitimate businesses. The dark web—accessible only through specialized browsers like Tor—has transformed criminal services […]
The Badge as a Weapon: How a Federal Agent Exploited His Position to Victimize Women By C.Kimberly Toms | April 14, 2025 In June 2026, a former U.S. Department of State agent convicted of my sexual assault in Waukesha County, Wisconsin will complete his probation. As that date approaches, I feel compelled to share critical […]
Tech-Enabled Abuse: When Those Meant to Protect Become Predators My journey from victimization to advocacy in the nation’s capital and the disturbing truths discovered along the way By C.Kimberly Toms | April 13, 2025 Last Tuesday, I traveled to Washington, DC to join RAINN on Capitol Hill. A significant part of our mission was to […]
The Role of the Dark Web in Tech-Enabled Abuse By C.Kimberly Toms | April 4, 2025 The dark web exists as a hidden corner of the internet, accessible only through specialized software that masks users’ identities. Beyond its legitimate uses for privacy and free expression, this shadowy realm has become a marketplace for tech-enabled abuse, […]
Deepfakes. Revenge porn. Sextortion. No matter what you call it, tech-enabled sexual abuse is harmful and unethical—and it should be a crime in every state. What Is Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse? Tech-enabled sexual abuse is NOT pornography. Informed, capable adults may legally choose to participate in the creation and distribution of consensual pornographic media. But when explicit content […]
Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse: A Survivor’s Perspective By C.Kimberly Toms | March 24, 2025 The intersection of technology and personal safety has emerged as a pressing issue in today’s digital age. While technology offers countless benefits, its misuse can lead to insidious harm, particularly through tech-enabled sexual abuse. This phenomenon represents a growing threat, where perpetrators […]
The day I decided to speak out about the crimes against me was the day I truly understood the weight of power imbalances in our system. As a survivor of sexual assault at the hands of a federal agent, my journey has been fraught with unique challenges that have opened my eyes to the urgent […]
A Survivor’s Call for Change As I sit down to write this, I’m reminded of the long and arduous journey that brought me here. It’s been years since I first found myself thrust into a nightmare I never could have imagined – a survivor of violent sexual assault, fighting not only my own trauma but […]
When I first stepped into the realm of the justice system, I naively believed it would be my refuge, a place where the wrongs done to me would be righted. Instead, I found myself trapped in a labyrinth of systemic flaws, each turn revealing new horrors that threatened to silence me forever. This is my […]
Each of us go through a week now and then — or in my case recently, three weeks — of a personal hell. Maybe “hell” is a strong word for my past three weeks as I have certainly been through worse. But these days of difficulties have been trying, to say the least. Momentary Hell […]
Escaping Fed is the frightening true story of a federally empowered serial offender and the woman trying to survive him. Escaping Fed was shot on a Sony Alpha 7s and a Canon 5D Mark III.
But some question whether it will result in anything concrete. Foreign Policy article By Robbie Gramer and Emily Tamkin April 13, 2018, 2:01 PMThe State Department’s internal watchdog is reviewing the handling of sexual harassment and assault cases, bringing a new level of scrutiny to a part of the federal government that has long struggled with the issue. […]