The Epstein files: where did the media get it wrong?
Thu 16 April 2026
11:30
Free
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The crimes of the dead convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, now behind bars for sex trafficking, still reverberate globally as the political fallout continues. Years after many tried to ignore, minimize, or bury the truth, the case still casts a long shadow; in the United States, the Epstein files story continues to dominate American politics while in Britain, a prince has been stripped of his title.
This panel asks whether in the post-#MeToo era women’s and girls’ testimonies carry the weight they should. Did the news media fail to give this story the sustained, rigorous coverage it deserved from the outset? And how can journalists protect survivors when reporting stories entangled with powerful institutions and individuals?
The panel will explore what the media has learned — and what it still must learn — about reporting sexual abuse, navigating power, and ensuring that survivors’ safety remains at the centre of the story.
The discussion will bring together three women with unique and essential perspectives.
Moderated by Annette Young.
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Monique El-Faizy
Monique El-Faizy is a Paris-based journalist and author. She has written for a wide variety of publications, including The New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, France24, Marie Claire, GQ, Glamour, Moscow Magazine, and the Moscow Guardian, and has lived and worked in Egypt, Russia, Europe, Asia and the United States. Covering beats ranging from Wall Street to the Arab-American community, she has held staff positions at the New York Daily News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Associated Press and the Record of Hackensack. El-Faizy’s work focuses on people or groups that are disenfranchised and/or misunderstood and brings nuance to subjects that are usually depicted in broad strokes. El-Faizy is a former fellow at the World Policy Institute, a former board member of Doctors of the World-USA and the co-founder of Mwikali’s Gift, a 501(c)3 relief organization working in the village of Usalama, Kenya. El-Faizy has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Egyptian and Dutch by heritage, she grew up in the United States. She is fluent in Russian and French and speaks a smattering of Arabic.
Jess Michaels
Jess Michaels is a TEDx speaker, social-impact founder, and survivor-advocate reshaping how we understand trauma, safety, and community care. A 1991 Jeffrey Epstein and childhood sexual abuse survivor, Jess has navigated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for more than three decades, an experience that now fuels her life’s work. She is the founder of 3Joannes, Inc., a public benefit corporation developing #WithYouToo, the first-ever social safety app built on the principles of Sexual Assault First Aid™—a framework that teaches everyday people how to show up in moments that matter, before, during, and after crisis. The platform equips peers and communities with pre-crisis protocols, trauma-sensitive support skills, and clear post-assault care pathways. At the heart of Jess’s work is a powerful reframing: sexual assault is an injury before it’s an investigation. Her mission is to prevent long-term PTSD by ensuring survivors receive immediate, compassionate, stabilizing care before systems and interrogations unintentionally deepen the harm.
Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Lucia Osborne-Crowley is an award-winning investigative journalist and author. Her latest book, The Lasting Harm, is the result of a six-year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s child sex trafficking ring. Lucia’s reporting focuses on centring the voices and stories of the victims and she is passionate about trauma-informed reporting. For more information on Lucia, see the 9 March 2026 Guardian interview entitled 'The cover-up is brazen’: one journalist’s tenacious, traumatic fight to expose Ghislaine Maxwell.
Annette Young
Annette Young is a senior journalist and news presenter for France 24 Television. Originally from Australia, Annette has reported from parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She also is the creator and host of The 51 Percent, an award-winning program about the women reshaping our world which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. In an extensive career, she has worked for the Melbourne Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and SBS Television Australia as a reporter, producer and in newsroom management. While based in the Middle East, she became a Jerusalem correspondent for France 24. In 2015, she was named by UN Women as one of the 20 inspirational global voices on women in the media and was awarded the gold medal in broadcast journalism for the Ricardo Ortega prize in 2018. In 2023, Annette was selected as a 'Game Changer' and a social impact finalist in the Global Australian Awards in recognition of her contribution to the field of gender journalism.
Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo
Il Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo di Perugia è un evento annuale che riunisce professionisti dei media, esperti di comunicazione e appassionati di informazione da tutto il mondo. Si svolge nel centro storico di Perugia e offre conferenze, dibattiti, workshop e opportunità di networking sui temi più rilevanti del giornalismo contemporaneo.