Vivek Ramaswamy's Shameful Political Ad Encourages Abuse Survivors to Stay Silent

So we’re using a woman’s rape by her stepfather at age 12 to win elections now?

The headline out of Ohio this week took my breath away. As I read the details, all I could think about was what it felt like to be 12 years old, worried I wouldn’t be believed. And I wondered what had happened to shame.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, released a campaign ad featuring his opponent, Dr. Amy Acton’s estranged mother, calling her a liar.

It’s 2026. After #MeToo and after years of survivors fighting to be heard, we’re still watching someone’s childhood sexual abuse being used as a political weapon.

What the ad doesn’t mention is that Amy hasn’t seen her mother since 1978, when she was 12 years old. That’s when she and her younger brother were removed from their mother’s custody after their stepfather was charged with raping Amy. Her mother remained married to Amy’s stepfather until his death in 2004.

So here we are, almost 50 years later, where a political campaign has brought a sexual abuse survivor’s estranged mother back into the picture. Not to reconcile, not for healing, but to publicly question her own daughter’s credibility.

It’s astonishing to me what Amy has accomplished despite everything she endured as a child. She became a doctor, built a career, and went on to make a life that wasn’t defined by her past. But no amount of success or distance from childhood trauma makes someone immune to being hurt all over again. Especially when the person questioning your credibility is someone who was supposed to protect you.

As an incest survivor, I can tell you that one of the greatest fears is not being believed. Someone questioning what happened, suggesting we’re lying, or deciding that the person who hurt us is more credible than we are can keep children from speaking up and getting help.

The bravery it took for 12-year-old Amy to come forward and testify against her stepfather is astounding. Her younger brother has said that she endured even more abuse trying to protect him. Most of us will never know that kind of bravery.

But I’ve seen it in the survivors I’ve met through my work with organizations trying to break the silence around incest. Some of these organizations teach children to recognize abuse and tell a trusted adult.

Amy did exactly what we ask children to do. She spoke up. But what message are we sending our children when a woman who told her story in a courtroom at 12 has her credibility publicly questioned nearly 50 years later? And all because she’s running for political office.

But this didn’t happen in a vacuum. And it’s not just a mother-versus-daughter situation.

Someone in Vivek’s campaign had the idea and thought, “Yes, let’s do it.” Other people in the campaign agreed it was a good idea. Calls were made. Emails were sent. An ad was produced. And at every step along the way, someone could have said, “No, we’re not doing this. It’s a terrible idea.”

But no one stopped it.

The ad surfaced, the backlash began, and Vivek’s campaign announced it would spend $4 million promoting it anyway. Vivek defended the ad, and the vice president of the United States, JD Vance, said, “Whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern.”

Really?

Fortunately, not all political leaders agreed. Ohio’s Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, publicly called for the ad to be taken down. And Lydia Mihalik, a member of his cabinet, said, “I don’t have to agree with Amy Acton’s politics to believe that exploiting someone’s childhood trauma is wrong.”

Having support matters whether it’s right after the abuse or years later. In my case, when I told my mom that I’d been sexually abused, she believed me and immediately got me into therapy. And I’m grateful for that.

But being believed didn’t erase what happened. The shadow of the abuse still follows me, just like it does for many survivors. Even with support, I spent years learning to trust myself and make sense of what happened. It’s impacted my relationship with my husband, how I communicate, how I show up at work, how I parent, and how I see the world. The effects of the abuse from decades ago don’t just disappear with time. And seeing a story like Amy’s play out in the news brings those feelings right back to the surface.

I think what upsets me most about this story isn’t just what Amy endured as a child or her painful relationship with her mother. It’s that all of it is now being used against her.

Think about it. A 12-year-old girl was raped by her stepfather. She found the courage to explain what he did to her in a courtroom. And nearly 50 years later, her estranged mother appears in a political ad questioning her credibility.

And somewhere along the way, people decided this was a good way to win votes.

It’s 2026. After #MeToo and after years of survivors fighting to be heard, we’re still watching someone’s childhood sexual abuse being used as a political weapon.

This should never have happened.

But it did. And even after the backlash, people are still defending it.

Shame on them.

The US National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), by texting "START" to 88788, or through chat at thehotline.org. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or by texting "HOPE" to 64673. Both offer 24/7, free, and confidential support. DomesticShelters.org has a list of global and national resources.