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After writing “Who Gets Heard, Who Gets Silenced,” I didn’t wait for a response. I went to the Capitol. What I saw didn’t just confirm what I wrote. It showed me how the system actually works—up close, in real time.

The Setup You Don’t See

It was an open session. Legislators moving quickly, clearing bills, conversations happening on the fly. But what mattered wasn’t always happening on the floor. It was happening in the hallway.

Lobbyists stood behind the velvet rope—positioned exactly where legislators pass through. That’s not accidental. That’s where access lives. That’s where conversations happen before decisions are finalized.

And as legislators walked through, they stopped. They talked, and they listened. Time existed there.

Who Gets Time

I was there as independent media. Not on assignment. Not funded by any organization. Just there to observe, document, and ask questions.

There were other cameras in the hallway too. In conversation, I was told they were working on stories supported through nonprofit funding.

I wasn’t.

That difference matters more than people think.

Because outside that rope, getting time is different.

I’ve called offices. Left messages. Asked direct questions. I’ve documented it on my Her Truth Unleashed YouTube page—officials avoiding, deflecting, saying they’re too busy.

But in that hallway, they weren’t too busy.

They had time—just not for everyone.

Same Space, Different Standard

At one point, I was standing near two lobbyists. They told me they weren’t even working that day—they were there to support colleagues.

No one asked them to move. No one raised concerns.

But when I stood in that same space—observing, asking questions, documenting—concerns were raised about interference.

About being in the way.

The hallway didn’t change.

The activity didn’t change.

Only who was standing there.

When Conversations Get Redirected

This wasn’t the first time I saw it.

At an earlier press event tied to the NDA bill, I spoke with two women from an advocacy organization after identifying myself as both media and a survivor.

I asked a direct question: Why is the focus on high-profile NDA cases involving large settlements, when most survivors will never sign an NDA, never see that kind of money, and are still fighting just to be believed?

The conversation shifted into talking points. Then it quickly ended. A registered lobbyist representing the organization stepped in and pulled them away.

Later, during the open session, a similar pattern played out again. While I was in a casual conversation with Capitol Police—about the building itself, nothing related to access—concerns were raised about where I was standing and whether I was interfering.

There hadn’t been an issue before. Then suddenly, there was.

How the System Is Built

This isn’t about one moment or one interaction. It’s about structure. Organizations hire lobbyists. Lobbyists are positioned for access. Lobbyists are expected in those spaces. Lobbyists get time. That’s the system working exactly as designed.

And if you’re not part of that structure—if you’re not funded, not organized, not positioned behind that rope—you’re not moving through the system the same way.

The Bill—and the Disconnect

The legislation being pushed focuses on nondisclosure agreements—high-profile cases, large settlements, public narratives. Those cases matter. But they are not the reality for most survivors.

By widely cited data, around 41% of women experience sexual violence. That’s not a small group. That’s not a fringe issue. That’s a significant portion of the population. And those same women are taxpayers.

They fund the programs. They fund the organizations. They fund the system. But they are not the ones shaping the conversation inside it.

Most survivors will never see a settlement. Most will never sign an NDA. Most are still trying to be heard.

What I Saw

What I saw wasn’t just lobbying, it was how access is controlled.

Organized, funded voices move easily through the process.

Unscripted voices—especially ones asking different questions—get redirected, slowed down, or shut out of the flow.

Not always loudly. Not always directly. But consistently.

The Question That Stays

If organizations are speaking for survivors, then survivors should be able to speak too.

If the goal is to help, then the system should be able to handle real questions—even uncomfortable ones.

Because right now, there’s a gap.

Final Thought

The majority is funding a system that isn’t built to hear them.

It’s built to hear the people who can afford to be there—every day, in the right place, behind the right rope.

And when that’s who shapes the conversation, the focus doesn’t stay on the majority, it shifts to whoever has access.

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