Born out of silence: A survivor’s journey to motherhood

Hadley Duvall lived in fear for the majority of her childhood.  

Getting off the bus after school, she knew her stepdad would be there at home, alone. 

When she got checked out of school, Duvall said her body would tremble with fear. 

What if he were the one to pick her up instead of her mom?

School was an escape from him. An escape from something that Duvall said she didn’t yet understand, but she knew was wrong. 

Even at sleepovers in her own house, he would wake her up in the middle of the night to get her alone. 

The first time it clicked with Duvall that what she was experiencing from her stepfather was wrong was at a school assembly. The guidance counselors taught the young children about their “no no squares” and how it was wrong for anyone to touch them there.

“I almost went and talked to the guidance counselor that day in second grade,” Duvall said. “Instead, I went home, and I remember telling my stepdad, ‘You’re not supposed to be touching me there; this is what they said in school.’ And his response was ‘Well, that’s for strangers.’”

At 7 years old, Duvall said his response made perfect sense to her. Why wouldn’t she believe him? Her stepfather married her mom when she was only 2 years old, and he had been a consistent father figure in her life.

Starting at 5-years-old, Duvall was sexually abused by her stepfather. At 12 years old, Duvall took her first pregnancy test; it was positive. Just a few weeks later, she experienced a miscarriage, another secret Duvall was forced to keep with her abuser. 

Her family life was normal, from the outside looking in. The “perfect all-American family,” she said, with new cars, name-brand everything, dogs, a boat, a jet ski, yearly family vacations. 

“That’s why you really never know what someone’s going through,” Duvall said. “Their marriage, back then, to me, was healthy. Cooked dinner every night, we always had food and groceries, clean laundry, clean house, we even had a housekeeper at one point for a couple of years. We lived a good life.” 

The abuse continued into high school, and in health class, after learning about women’s bodies, Duvall knew something had to change. 

“Looking around wondering like ‘Who else is going through this? Who else has experienced this?’” Duvall said. “Just not wanting to live in fear anymore. I was just so done.”

Duvall said she decided she needed to tell her mom during her freshman year of high school about what had been happening to her.

Over text, Duvall told her mom she needed to talk to her about something. Her mom asked lots of follow-up questions. One being if they needed to call the police. When Duvall said yes, her mom checked her out of school so they could have an in-person conversation. 

“I remember we’re driving down the street, I know exactly what street, I know everything about the day,” Duvall said. “And I just came out and told her, and she immediately stopped the car in the middle of the street.”

Her mom vomited. After driving home, they sat in silence for what Duvall said felt like hours, trying to figure out what they were going to do next. 

Duvall said they decided she would stay with a friend, telling her stepdad that she was there working on a school project. Meanwhile her mom remained at home and prepared to leave their life there behind. 

Her mom cleared the bank accounts, hid and locked up guns in their house and then confronted her stepfather with witnesses, Duvall said. 

Every year when that day comes around, Duvall said she celebrates it as the day she had her breakthrough moment. This April marks nine years. 

Her abuser is now incarcerated with a 20 year sentence after taking a plea deal almost 10 years ago. After serving 5 years, he was up for parole. 

However, Duvall talked to the parole board, resulting in a 10 year deferment, which makes him ineligible for parole until 2032. 

Duvall shared her experience using her social media platforms, turning her circumstances into something bigger than herself.  

In Andy Beshear’s gubernatorial campaigns, Duvall participated in an ad for Beshear where she shared her story. She said the opposing candidate at the time, Daniel Cameron, would not allow for women and girls to have control of their bodies in situations like hers. 

Duvall participated in a similar ad for presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2025 and joined her on a tour bus across the states to speak out about reproductive freedom and women’s rights. 

In June of 2025, at age 23, Duvall took another pregnancy test. It was positive.  

“Honestly, when I first found out I was pregnant ... I was just like ‘Oh my gosh, not again,’” Duvall said. “I was really terrified. Honestly, I wasn’t excited, and I can say that with full excitement now.” 

Duvall’s fiancé, Hayden, whom she met in college, was thrilled when Duvall told him she was pregnant. The two are planning to get married next year.  

As Duvall has grown to be excited about her pregnancy, she said she has also fought several fears and memories of past experiences.  

After the first year Duvall was with her fiance, they lost his nephew to SIDS at only 5 months old.

“After having Hampton, we both kind of … weren’t really talking to each other about how scared we were and how anxious we were,” Duvall said. “We both kind of just sat with each other and cried about the pressure … We witnessed his death, and that’s hard.”

Being able to be emotionally vulnerable has helped Duvall through the fears of having a newborn. 

With her previous miscarriage at 12 years old, Duvall said that also added anxiety onto her most recent pregnancy.

“I knew that I was at risk for another one,” Duvall said. “It’s like the first thing I wanted to cover was like, ‘What’s my plan?’ If something happens, if I wake up in the middle of the night, if I’m not feeling well or something’s going wrong, where is the safest place to go?’” 

Kentucky has a near-total abortion ban, with a trigger ban that went into effect in June of 2022. Residing in a state with limited reproductive care for women, Duvall said she was nervous. 

“The women I work with, beside every single day, the stories that I’ve heard, I know the risk, I know the complications, and I knew the hard conversations that needed to be had,” Duvall said. “But honestly, his (her fiance’s) support made me feel a lot better.” 

Being an activist and Duvall knows that her daughter will understand that there are people out there fighting for her.  

“It is a scary time to bring a child, especially a girl, into the world. I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Duvall said. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that I work alongside — and there are so many women who I haven’t even met yet — who are also doing this work, who are fighting for a better future, for all the little girls.” 

After finding out Duvall was having a girl, Duvall said people reassured her that she would be able to give her baby a childhood that she never got.  

“That’s true, but that’s so much pressure,” Duvall said. “You literally hold the fate of someone’s memories, someone’s upbringing.” 

Pregnancy has given Duvall an opportunity that she hasn't had before — to do things completely her way, on her own terms, but she said the memories of the past have caused a whirlwind of emotions.  

“There were days that I would just sit and cry, and I would wonder what route I wanted to take, was I making the right decision, was I capable of doing this?” Duvall said. “It’s been very nerve-wracking, not only finding out that it’s a girl, but just being pregnant again.” 

Duvall said she never wants her baby girl to feel silenced about anything, the way she was when she was younger. She is still fighting for the future of her baby, and those of the women who surround her.  

“I didn't want anyone to think that, because I'm pregnant, I feel any less about choice, because honestly, it has just heightened my feelings about it,” Duvall said. “So just knowing that every day I get up, I'm still fighting for a cause while having the privilege of living through my choice and choosing what's best for me and in this situation, it was to keep the pregnancy.”