17: A Mini Check-In for Survivors in the Pandemic- Your Feelings Are All Valid

Lauren of MeTooManyVoices and I discuss all kinds of things re: healing. Join us for a chat about our thoughts on forgiveness,  righteous anger, and a phrase that personally makes me want to vomit: 'Hurt people hurt people'. Like, unless you're a literal 5 year old, just stop.  Thanks to one amazing supporter for this topic idea, and to Lauren for sharing her wisdom!

Zahada and Krithi  joined me to discuss their powerful perspectives on sexual assault in the Peace Corps, experiences of BIPOC with Peace Corps and generally in society, and more.  Follow them on social media: Zahada is on Instagram at Onediasporacoalition and Krithi at decolonizingpc and kritterstagram.

Imagine being raped, the rapist agreeing to a plea deal and getting convicted, and then a judge "misfiling" some paperwork so that all that trauma only led to a rapist going free without a trace. Taelor tells the story of how this exact scenario happened to her, and also talks about her journey to healing and the work she does now to help others process trauma.

Abigail from NC shares her activism as a secondary survivor and gives us all hope for the future. Learn about BLOOM365 and other amazing local and national organizations from a youth leader! Celebrate Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month with a message of hope and signs of Gen Z picking up the baton with a focus on prevention.

Follow Abigail on Instagram @BringLoveAsheville and at @abigail_goldstein. Learn more about the BLOOM365 programming she offers at www.bloom365.org.

Let's do a rape trial without using or defining the word "rape"! Sounds fair, right? Aarefah and her sister, Sayedah, are back for episode 2 of Aarefah's reporting and legal system experience. Clearly, it was amazing! Nothing sets up a fair and unbiased trial like a "neutral" detective testifying against you, no use of the word "rape" even though that was the offense, and being threatened with jail by using the words "Me Too"... and 3 separate tries. Love that "justice" system. Sign Aarefah's petition and join the cause.

Part 1 of 2: Aarefah and her sister Sayedah share their experiences with sexual harassment, discrimination based on race and religion, and Aarefah's sexual assault. Their stories exemplify how survivors are failed every step of the way while reporting to Title IX, police, and civil courts. While this all-too-familiar story is maddening and infuriating at every step, the sisters' persistence and courage while crossing every imaginable hurdle is wholly inspiring.

Kyle Richard stopped a sexual assault in progress and got shot two times for confronting the perpetrator. Now the former SUNY Cortland football player is dedicating his life to ending sexual violence and speaking out about gun violence. He has many important messages to share about being an active bystander, embracing the wave of emotions that come with surviving trauma, and how we can all do our part to prevent violence.

Vasha joins me today to talk about 'I May Destroy You', the series that wins all of the Golden Globes in our hearts. Michaela Coel's incredible series depicting the aftermath of surviving a drug-facilitated sexual assault in groundbreaking and has so much content to inspire conversations around sexual violence, so we thought we'd share our thoughts and how it related to our own experiences, too.

Additionally, learn briefly about the Address Confidentiality Program in the United States- a way for survivors of abuse and assault to keep their address private, and the program's perks and shortcomings in a new segment entitled, "Available Services That Are Still Inadequate"!

Check out Vasha's amazing work @courageous_v on Instagram.

Welcome to Season 3: Follow Up! This first episode gives a basic overview of what restorative justice is within the context of sexual violence. I'll go over the basics, some common misconceptions, and some questions asked by listeners about who is eligible and how the process works.

M. Colleen McDaniel discusses her research on perpetrators of sexual violence, because you can't really stop rape without addressing the root cause: rapists. Learn about the Social Norms Approach, causal factors to perpetration, and a ton of interesting facts from McDaniel's field and research on sexual aggression.