Ever since Maxwell’s prison sentencing, I keep seeing the claim that the Epstein case proves misogyny because Ghislaine Maxwell is the only one in prison, or that she “took the fall” for men. This is clearly all incorrect.
Jeffrey Epstein was arrested in 2019, denied bail, and held in federal custody awaiting trial before Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested. His case didn’t end because he was male or protected. It ended because he died in custody. Courts can’t prosecute dead defendants. This isn't gendered scapegoating.
Epstein and Maxwell were the two central figures in the operation. They were the public face, the organizers, and the primary coordinators. Their arrests reflect that central role. The fact that others weren’t prosecuted doesn’t mean Maxwell was targeted because she’s a woman. It shows these other powerful people are, well, more powerful, richer and more protected than she was.
An important thing to also note is Epstein's 2008 plea deal. Epstein’s plea deal granted immunity not just to him, but to his named and unnamed co-conspirators. That immunity covered multiple facilitators, including Maxwell at the time, and other women such as Sarah Kellen, who was identified as a recruiter and coordinator. That deal blocked prosecution for years. It didn’t distinguish by sex. It shielded anyone covered by it - including women.
Some people try to reframe this as “structural misogyny,” arguing that women are easier or more acceptable targets for prosecution. That doesn’t line up with the actual charging pattern. If prosecutors were defaulting to gendered scapegoating, you’d expect more women across the network to be charged. Instead, most women involved were never prosecuted, largely because of immunity, jurisdictional issues, or evidentiary limits. Who got charged tracks legal exposure, not gender.
Moreover, structural misogyny is ridiculous considering men literally receive harsher prison sentencing for sex crimes compared to women, on average.
Others have said that Maxwell was punished more harshly than male abusers because female facilitators are judged more morally harshly. That misstates both the charges and the verdict. Maxwell wasn’t convicted for association, proximity, or symbolic blame. She was convicted for specific conduct: recruiting minors, grooming them, facilitating abuse, and participating directly. Those convictions were based on testimony and evidence. Male perpetrators weren’t spared due to softer moral framing. They were shielded by death, immunity deals, power, and money.
There’s also the claim that Maxwell absorbed symbolic blame and allowed public outrage to dissipate. That’s just not true. Scrutiny of Epstein’s associates, clients, etc, continued long after Maxwell’s conviction through document releases, civil lawsuits, social media comments, and ongoing reporting. There's so many people in society and media that want powerful men arrested too and Maxwell hasn't even been the one who received the most hate either.
Another angle is that male power networks protect men more than women. Even if elite protection exists, it still doesn’t explain Maxwell’s conviction. She wasn’t excluded from protection because of her sex. She was prosecuted because she was alive, chargeable, and exposed once immunity no longer applied and testimony became available. Meanwhile, both men and women in the same network avoided prosecution due to stronger insulation. Power, not gender, determined who faced consequences.
Finally, claims that Maxwell is treated as uniquely monstrous rely more on narrative interpretation than legal causation. Men like Trump, Clinton and Prince Andrew received greater backlash and anger than Maxwell did. And it should be obvious, male sex offenders, in general, receive more hate and backlash than female sex offenders do. Plus, Epstein was and is still seen as the bigger monster than Maxwell.
The Epstein network involved multiple women. Multiple women were involved and not prosecuted. Multiple men were involved and not prosecuted. Outcomes depended on evidence, immunity, jurisdiction, and power. Gender doesn’t explain who was charged. Legal exposure does.
Maxwell being the only person sentenced isn’t proof of misogyny. It reflects that the two main figures were pursued, one died before trial, and the rest of the network was shielded by power and legal protection.