Down the Rabbit Hole

Tech-enabled or tech-facilitated abuse can be terrifying, overwhelming, and intimidating to confront. This week Sarah and William welcome Adam Dodge, founder and CEO of EndTAB, to talk about some ways tech-enabled abuse is wielded by perpetrators and ways advocates and prevention workers can approach this huge topic. By consistently applying a prevention lens, Adam helps to make this conversation...

Sarah and William welcome Kate to her second DTRH episode! Together, they talk about purity culture--what it is, how it manifests itself in harmful self-image and unhealthy relationships, and why it's such an effective tool for patriarchal beliefs and systems. Of course, all aspects of purity culture were not covered in the episode, so if you have any thoughts or questions about the episode or wan...

This week is all about periods. Sarah and William welcome Lizzy MacRae Garvin--a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) professional--to Down the Rabbit Hole to discuss menstruation... what are the challenges, barriers, and stigmas that impact how people view and experience their periods. They talk in both the global and domestic contexts and explore some of intersecting challenges such as homeless...

Sarah and William start this week talking about gender bias in the medical and health fields. The conversation develops into a casual rant about broader gender discrimination and bias in society and its intersections with systemic racism in healthcare. Listen along to hear which rabbit holes they fall down related to this topic and to hear more about what's in store for upcoming episodes. As alway...

On the heels of last week's episode on trafficking conspiracy theories, Sarah and William welcome Elyssa Schroeder to the podcast to talk about taking a human rights approach to trafficking and to explore a brief history. From trafficking's racist roots to addressing common misconceptions to talking about trafficking prevention, this episode tries to cover a lot of ground. Make sure to take a brea...

Join William and Sarah as they go down a conspiracy rabbit hole! Megan Valdez, a CASA supervisor, guides Sarah and William through several conspiracies on trafficking such as Wayfair, Pizzagate and Save the Children. Through this conversation, Megan also specifically discusses why conspiracies such as these are harmful for survivors of trafficking. #istoppedcounting #freedomhappensnow #standforher...

This week Sarah and William talk about their favorite podcasts and engaging traditional and nontraditional prevention partnerships. They are joined by Ashley & Brit from Crime Junkie--an award-winning true crime podcast. Sarah and William talk with Ashley & Brit about how they discuss and examine stories involving intimate partner violence and their role as nontraditional, non-expert preve...

Young parents can face many difficult challenges, making support incredibly important. Join William and Sarah as they welcome Karen Confer and Deana Boggess to discuss the complexities of young parenthood, how domestic violence can affect young families and what supporting young parents should look like.  For more information on the Round Rock ISD's teen parent program, please visit: https://...

In this bonus policy episode, Krista Del Gallo and Molly Voyles are back! They join Sarah and William to talk about TCFV's role in policy making, our priorities for Texas' 87th legislative session, some advice and perspective for people who want to get involved in policy work generally, and how you can help this session. If you want more information or would like to be put on the policy listserv,...

It is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Sarah and William are joined by another member of TCFV's Young Hearts Matter Leadership Board--Vivian Sanchez. The three of them discuss some general information on eating disorders, explore their intersection with intimate partner violence, and then talk about recovery and hopes for the future. If you have any questions about this episode or want to...

It's still Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. This week two of Sarah's best friends join her and William as they broach another huge topic: gaming! They spend some time talking about the positives of gaming culture as well as some of the frustrations and challenges that come along with it. If you have any questions or want to talk with William and Sarah more about gaming culture or how young pe...

William and Sarah welcome Meg Greene and Randy Randolph from SAFE to DTRH. In this episode, we talk about the importance of raising youth voices and how adults can be allies, not only in February but all year round. If you have any question, please e-mail us at prevention@tcfv.org. If you want to hear more about what SAFE has planned for February, please reach out to them at 512.267.7233. To purch...

To kick off Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM), Adriana Munoz, from our Young Hearts Matter Leadership Board, joins Sarah and William to talk about youth survivorship. In bravely sharing her own story, Adriana walks us through what it means to be a youth survivor, what support can look like and so much more. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to us at prevention@tcfv...

New year, new partnerships? What are the challenges and strategies to working with communities of faith? Join Sarah, William, and their first guest of 2021 Suzanne as they jump down this rabbit hole and explore the possibilities of partnerships between domestic violence programs and faith-based communities. Check out the Faith Trust Institute at https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/ for more inform...

It's 2021! This year has already been off to an emotional start, and it would be easy to tune it all out. But one thing we shouldn't forget is that January is Stalking Awareness Month. Join Sarah and William in their first episode after a couple weeks off as they discuss stalking, how it relates to intimate partner violence, and some considerations for prevention. If you have any questions, commen...

2020--what a year! While having a casual, fun conversation about movies, tv, living in a pandemic and more, Sarah and William help each other identify their successes during this year of challenges and discuss looking forward into 2021. Listen along and think of the ways you can say good-bye to 2020!We wish everyone a happy and safe New Year's. If the holidays are an unsafe time for you, please vi...

Content Warnings: Discussions of abuse, suicide and some language. We all have a shadow self--parts of our personalities or lived experiences that we would rather ignore or repress. Join Sarah, William, and their special guest Melissa Prentice as they discuss how we use toxic positivity and gratitude pressure to maintain our shadow selves, often to the detriment of our wellbeing and others'. If yo...

Sarah and William welcome TCFV's Digital Technology Coordinator Kate Kerns on the podcast this week to talk about positive and negative perspectives on pornography. How does porn relate to relationships, self-esteem, feminism, and intimate partner violence? Listen along to find out. Learn more about having healthy conversations about sex with children and families from Sex Positive Families at htt...

So far Down the Rabbit Hole has tackled several challenging topics, and with the winter holidays upon us, you may be gearing up for challenging conversations with your friends and family. In this episode, William and Sarah welcome Noah Molina--a member of TCFV's Young Hearts Matter Leadership Board--and his mom Elda Garcia to talk about some strategies to use when having challenging conversations,...

In honor of World AIDS Day, William and Sarah welcome Melissa Carr and Brandon Harris from SafeConnect--a project of UT Southwestern! Together, they dive into what HIV and AIDS are, some common myths about them, their intersection with IPV, and why prevention work at this intersection is so important. Additionally, Melissa and Brandon discuss how SafeConnect is aiming to prevent both IPV and HIV a...

From being caught off guard by a student's bravery to answering awkward or tough questions, from inspiring mentors to supportive supervisors and coworkers, from the beginning to now... Sarah and William have so many things to be grateful for that have paved their journeys up until this point. On this episode they have a casual conversation to reflect on their time doing prevention work and discuss...

William and Sarah welcome back Molly, Mona, and Rita to continue their conversation on white supremacy. This week the conversation centers around how white supremacy is displayed in the movement to end domestic violence. History, policy, funding, prevention, and service provision are all touched on as the group journeys down this rabbit hole. If you have any questions, comments or want to continue...

All oppressions are interlinked. You cannot be fully supportive of the antiviolence movement without rejecting white supremacy and embracing antiracism. Sarah and William are joined by THREE amazing guests this week! Mona, Molly, and Rita are champions of racial equity work at TCFV and are here to talk with Sarah and William about white supremacy. What is it? How is it perpetuated? Is it the same...

This week Sarah and William are joined by Sarah's partner Cory as they go down the rabbit hole of masculinity. Using a report from Promundo as a guide, they explore 7 pillars of harmful masculinity. With brief overviews and initial reactions to each pillar, they only scratch the surface of what masculinity is, how traditional views of masculinity can be harmful, and what healthy masculinity can lo...

In this special vigil episode, TCFV honors those who lost their lives due to domestic violence throughout Texas  2019. This episode may be difficult to listen to, and we encourage you to take care of yourself while listening. If you or someone you know needs help or support, please reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.7233.  Resources: HTV Report : https://tcfv.or...