Every abuse story has the same dynamic — power vs vulnerability

While we talk about Epstein and the powerful men in his orbit it's easy to forget this abuse is happening all over society, all the time, writes Niamh Ní Dhomhnaill

Laura Fitzgerald, spokesperson for the ROSA Socialist Feminist Movement, after activists handed in a letter on Tuesday at the Department of An Taoiseach detailing allegations against Trump in the Epstein files. Photo: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

The Epstein saga feels like it has been going on for a long time, but the focus remains on the names of the men in Epstein's circle and not on the women and girls he abused or on those who allowed it to go on for so long. 

All acts of abuse and violence, regardless of status, have one thing in common — the exploitation of vulnerability. Whether that vulnerability is momentary or situational; someone who is unconscious and cannot consent or perhaps is vulnerable in circumstance; they do not have somewhere to stay as evidenced in the sex-for-rent exploitation.