Arizona House candidate says she was raped fixing a campaign sign — and came forward for other survivors

Bernadette Greene-Placentia was in a Sun City parking lot north of Phoenix at just past 2 a.m. on Aug. 14, doing what her underfunded campaign often required of her: fixing a campaign sign herself. Someone struck her from behind on the head. When she regained consciousness, she said, a man was on top of her and she felt pain. A second man then assaulted her before they left. She drove herself home.

For more than two weeks, the Democratic congressional candidate said nothing publicly. She told her husband and campaign staff the next day, then tried to move on. It was only while out on the trail — telling voters she would fight harder for them than anyone else — that she said she confronted her own silence.

I was asking them, 'Do you think anybody's gonna fight harder than me?' And then in the back of my head, I'm like, 'Well you're telling these folks that you're gonna fight for them, but what about all the women that are victims of sexual assault? Are you not gonna fight for them? That kind of makes you a hypocrite, Bernadette.'— Bernadette Greene-Placentia, Democratic candidate, Arizona's 8th District

On Aug. 31, Greene-Placentia brought the assault to the attention of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. Speaking with ABC News, the sheriff's office verified that a report exists and that investigators are actively working the case, while declining to elaborate. No arrests have been reported.

Her story was first published by the Phoenix New Times earlier this week. Since then, she told CBS News, hundreds of women from around the world have written to her.

The humbling thing is that so many – hundreds and hundreds of women from around the world — have taken the time to write me and tell me their own story. I would say about 70% of them have acknowledged that they never reported it, and they are thanking me for being in the public eye and talking about it and giving voice because they didn't feel like they had a voice when they went through the same thing.— Bernadette Greene-Placentia, Democratic candidate, Arizona's 8th District

Greene-Placentia, a former long-haul trucker, is challenging freshman Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh in Arizona's 8th District, a Phoenix-area seat rated solidly Republican by Cook Political Report. She described her campaign as grassroots and not well-funded, which is why she and her staff routinely handled tasks like putting up and repairing signs themselves, sometimes late at night.

Her campaign manager, Isaiah Lopez, told ABC News that Greene-Placentia went 'missing in action' for two days after the assault. At a canvass event in Chandler, Arizona, a couple of days later, Lopez said she was 'noticeably distraught.' He and the communications manager pulled her aside during the event, where she told them what had happened.

A campaign spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News that Greene-Placentia "made the difficult decision to speak publicly about the assault because she wants other survivors to know they are not alone" and that she "is grateful for the support she has received from the community and asks that her privacy be respected as she continues to process what happened."

Hamadeh responded with a written statement after the story became public.

I have read the disturbing story and call upon authorities to investigate these serious allegations thoroughly, including finding all possible camera footage of the time and place in order to prosecute the crime to the fullest extent of the law. No American should become a victim of a crime in their own community.— Rep. Abe Hamadeh, Republican, Arizona's 8th District

Greene-Placentia said she believes police have footage of her driving home after the attack. She described the moment she decided to stop staying silent as a reckoning with what she was asking voters to believe about her.

As women, we want to take responsibility for everything and blame ourselves, and that is a societal problem we've got to get away from.— Bernadette Greene-Placentia, Democratic candidate, Arizona's 8th District

The reported assault is unfolding during a campaign season in which concerns about political violence have grown. In September, an armed man rushed toward Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton at a rally. According to CBS News, a man approached Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall earlier this year and sprayed vinegar at her.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office investigation is continuing. Greene-Placentia faces voters in November.

Why it matters — A congressional candidate's public account of being raped while campaigning — and the hundreds of women who responded saying they never reported their own assaults — puts survivor silence and political safety at the center of an already charged election season.

Reported by cbsnews.com, abcnews.com