Sexual Assault Survivor Stories

This episode is an edited version of the most recent Thrivivors Online Community, of The Jan Broberg Foundation, and features a presentation hosted by me. My presentation topic was "The Imposed Shame of Rape/Sexual Assault: what do we do with it?" and the members of the online community participated in a discussion and Q & A session on of the impact of shame on the lives of victims and survivors o...

46. Emily Stroia: Healing from Trauma and Finding Meaningful Purpose Emily Stroia is a life coach, spiritual counselor, military veteran, author and mom. She has mentored thousands of clients from all over the world on healing from loss, trauma, and finding purpose again. Currently Emily is working to obtain her master's degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in trauma at Antioch Univ...

45. Caroline Markel Hammond: Getting Caught Up & Hearing the Exciting Latest News! After my first episode with Caroline (Episode 19, Feb. '23), she and I became very good friends and we keep in touch frequently: checking in on each other, reminding each other of how important our respective work responsibilities are for the victim/survivor community, and making sure that we are both doing what we...

Hey there, SASS listeners! Welcome to another riveting episode of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories—The SASS Podcast. I'm thrilled you're joining me on this empowering journey. This week, I'm bursting with excitement to introduce you to a true powerhouse—Jessica Pride from The Pride Law Firm in San Diego, California. Picture this: She's not just a civil litigation attorney whose sole clientele is vi...

WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of rape and sexual assault. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capable persons. In this powerful episode I invited my daughter, Cashaye Barrera, as a special guest to share her courageous journey in seeking jus...

WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of rape and sexual assault. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capable persons. I am honored to introduce you to another brave and strong voice of a survivor of intra-familial sexual assault/rape who reached ou...

41. Nicole Florisi: The Impact of Vicarious Trauma on Our Unsung Heroes: Victim Advocates There is a population of unsung heroes in the criminal justice world: victim advocates. In the realm of sexual assault within the criminal justice system, victim advocates play a crucial role that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. These dedicated individuals provide much-needed support, guidance, and em...

In this intensely courageous episode, we have the privilege of hearing the powerful story of Mallory Tingey, an adult survivor of childhood, intra-familial sexual assault. Mallory is a good friend of my niece, Melissa, who shared with Mallory some information about this podcast. Melissa knew of Mallory's history of being sexually assaulted at the hands of Mallory's step-brothers and suggested that...

This week I ventured out into a realm that's a bit different, but no less important, than the customary platform of a sexual assault or rape story; I had the extreme privilege of conducting an interview with Nicole Snell, owner and CEO of Girls Fight Back, and the Founder of Outdoor Defense. I urge you to go to nicolesnell.com and read all you can about Nicole…she's a powerful person who knows wha...

38. Dave Markel: My Words on Being Trauma Informed Being trauma informed is one of the educational aspects of this podcast that I emphasize most heavily to those who are professionals that work with people who've experienced rape and sexual assault, and to those who personally know someone who has experienced that kind of trauma, which is pretty much every one of us. For victims and survivors to b...

37. Alan Manwaring: Revisiting Perspectives on His Healing Path Back in early April, I introduced you to my good friend, Alan Manwaring. He was my guest on Episode 26. Alan is not only my good friend, but he is also a mutual friend of Jan Broberg, and in fact, is Executive Director of The Jan Broberg Foundation! So, Alan and I work together on that board, but we also have many aspects of our lives...

36. Cassie Nicholas: A Trauma-Informed Journey of Healing & Hope Cassie Nicholas was born and grew up in the remote Appalachian Mountains of southwestern West Virginia. Her early childhood memories include sexual assault and consequently trying to call 911 at the age of three, but not having any success. Now, as an adult, she has a complex merging of childhood and adolescent memories: a loving and...

35. Katie Stewart: 25 Years of Doubt and Confusion; Finally Finding Answers Warning: This episode is explicit and is not suitable for children or those who are particularly sensitive to the topic of rape and the associated terminology. Please use discretion when listening to thie episode. Rape trauma is an incredibly distressing experience that can have profound effects on a person's memory, emoti...

It is an absolute pleasure and honor to welcome Jan Broberg back to the studio for this engaging conversation. Since Jan's initial appearance on Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, much has transpired, making it an incredible opportunity to catch up with her. If you haven't listened to Episode 2 of this show, I strongly encourage you to do so…you'll then be caught up as Jan and I delve into this thou...

The last time I spoke with last week's guest, Tim Cocanougher, aside from the episode interview, Tim was anxious to share with me his experience in working with the child forensic interviewer that had conducted the interviews for the last child sexual assault case that Tim had prosecuted. Tim excitedly told me how amazing she was, especially with regard to her level of education, knowledge and exp...

Episode 32. COL Tim Cocanougher, ret.: Why Don't Rape Cases Get Prosecuted More Often? If you caught Episode 6 last November, you'll remember my friend and colleague, Tim Cocanougher. Tim attended a Special Victims Unit Investigation Course I co-managed back in 2012 at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. He's a retired Colonel from the JAG Corp of the US Army National Guard, specializing in investigating and pr...

31. A Perspective Inspired by her Sister's Courage: Donnell Cameron Tells of Her Own Experience of Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Assault. WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of rape, sexual assault, and interpersonal violence. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately age...

30. Leanne Cameron: New to Telling Her Story, and Grateful She Did! WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of rape and sexual assault. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capable persons. As with every victim/survivor who has been a guest on my show,...

29. Carrie Elizabeth Grant: Carrie's Impact is Powerful! WARNING: This episode is very graphic, explicit, and detailed in the descriptions of rape, sexual assault, and the pain that is the product of rape and sexual assault on a victim; it is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capab...

28. A Deeper Dive on the Impact of Rape & Sexual Assault Following up on my previous episode on the impact of sexual assault and rape regarding trauma memory, this episode goes a little bit deeper: I discuss the impact of rape and sexual assault on the decision to report the rape…to law enforcement, or anyone else for that matter. The reporting rate is extremely low, especially when it comes to la...

27. Nicole Florisi: A Conversation on Trauma Impact, Recovering, and Surviving! I have the true pleasure and honor of hosting Nicole Florisi this week, as she returns to the show. She was a guest back in mid-January with her training colleague, and a good friend of mine, Von Kliem. I'm excited to have Nicole back for this episode. Nicole shares with us her vast knowledge of the neuroscience of tra...

26. Alan Manwaring: The Executive Director of the Jan Broberg Foundation on the Challenges of Victims and Survivors Telling Their Story In August of 2022 I was working with The Jan Broberg Show Podcast as a trauma-informed interview consultant and an adviser to The Jan Broberg Foundation. Jan told me that she was interested in having a guest on her show who had been a life-long friend of hers, and...

25. Julian Jones: A Male Survivor Tells His Story of Relationship Rape, and How He Survived WARNING: This episode is very graphic, explicit, and detailed in the descriptions of rape, sexual assault, and drugging that occurred to this guest; it is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally c...

24. The Irish Angel: Amanda Coleman; A Rape Survivor Offering Opportunities to Inform, Heal, and Promote a Healthy Lifestyle for First Responders. Amanda Coleman has an intriguing and captivating story of how she "fell into" becoming the Irish Angel. But to know how truly incredible her story of helping first responders and military veterans fight through their personal battles of PTSD, PTSI, TBI,...

23. Tracy Matheson: We Can Move Beyond 'Sorry' So Molly's Death is Not In Vain Molly Jane Matheson was raped. Then murdered. Molly's mother, Tracy, found Molly's body, half-naked, in Molly's apartment shower. Molly could be alive; her killer was a reported, known rapist. Yet there were failures, in law enforcement, in prosecution; Molly's killer could have been in jail for rape—long before Molly w...