She says the takeaway from her book, "Under Assault: A Crime Reporter's True Story Overcoming Sexual Trauma and Exposing Injustice," is God's providence.
"I cover federal law enforcement as a journalist, and I myself became a victim of violent crime," Giaritelli shares. "I was assaulted in broad daylight on the street in Washington, D.C., blocks from the U.S. Capitol, and went through an unfortunate situation in the criminal justice system."
She saw her attacker released from jail the day after he was arrested for assaulting her—then five more times after five additional arrests before the case wrapped.
"He went to prison, but the short of it is it's not in the D.C. crime stats because they don't count all crimes," the Washington Examiner reporter details. "The journey over the next few years following that were really difficult years for me."
Giaritelli credits her faith for getting her through that period, and she hopes her account will help other victims of crime, reported or otherwise.
"In my darkest days, it was my hope in Jesus that continued to bring me through," she notes. "We all need to hear this message."
Giaritelli encourages women and men to read the book. She believes men are part of the solution. That does not necessarily mean jumping in the street to help a woman who is under attack; it means standing up for women in locker rooms and in business conference rooms.
She thinks hearing things from a woman's perspective will help men understand why assault is so degrading and so devastating to a woman.
"It's just as much for men as it is for women," Giaritelli says about her book.
Eighteen million American women have been sexually assaulted since 1980, but it is the most underreported crime of all crimes. Giaritelli calls it an epidemic.
She knows first-hand that a lot of women are dealing with shame and devastation alone.
"I was [also] assaulted as a 17-year-old girl, and I never reported it," Giaritelli relays. "I thought it was my fault. I look back now and understand it wasn't my fault. Someone did something terrible to me, and so now I see from both angles and understand that sexual assault is such a bigger issue than just being a crime on the list. It's something that impacts a woman oftentimes for her life."
Giaritelli was assaulted on April 4, 2020. Her book was released on April 4, 2026.
