Chessy Prout
2018 Fellow
Author, Activist
After surviving a sexual assault in high school, Chessy became an activist and author, publishing her memoir and launching the #IHaveARightTo movement.
Chessy Prout is a high school sexual assault survivor. Raised in Japan, Chessy matriculated to St. Paul’s School‚Äîa boarding school in New Hampshire, where her father and sister attended. There, as a freshman, Chessy was the victim of a sexual assault. Chessy’s case and eventual trial garnered national and international media attention, as her assault was part of a ritual competition at the school called the “Senior Salute.” Two years later, in Chessy’s pursuit for justice, she decided to step forward publicly in August 2016 and launched the #IHaveTheRightTo initiative with the organization PAVE, for which she is an ambassador. In this initiative Chessy encourages survivors and others to assert their most important, basic rights, and uses her voice to let other survivors know that you are not alone.
Chessy Prout was an inspiration behind the A New Day x Vital Voices limited time Target collection.