Episode 6: How Hasn't it Affected Me?

Beyond Fear

In “How Hasn’t It Affected Me?” Alexa and Alissa have a candid, unscripted, and vulnerable conversation with Monishia “Moe” Miller and Guy Hamilton-Smith. We each talk about the ways that sexual violence has impacted our lives.

As with all episodes of this podcast, we want to warn our listeners that this can be difficult to listen to. It is okay to listen with a friend, listen in short chunks, or walk away. To offer fair warning for this episode, in particular, we talk about both in the short and long-term impacts of sexual violence in our personal stories, including substance abuse, self-harm, eating disorders, workaholism and suicide attempts.

This was a special episode for us to record. We spoke with two individuals we both admire and respect. The four of us created a safe space to talk very intimately and vulnerably about the ways that sexual violence still impacts us.

Material like this can be hard to listen to. It may bring up triggers for you. There are resources available should you need. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (www.rainn.org) has an abundance of resources, including the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

Some of the material we referenced in this episode includes:

Van der Kolk, Bessel (2015). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma.

Classen, C. C., Palesh, O. G., & Aggarwal, R. (2005). Sexual revictimization: A review of the empirical literature. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 6(2), 102-129.

Maker, A. H., Kemmelmeier, M., & Peterson, C. (2001). Child sexual abuse, peer sexual abuse, and sexual assault in adulthood: A multi-risk model of revictimization. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 14(2), 351-368.

Nelson, E. C., Heath, A. C., Madden, P. A., Cooper, M. L., Dinwiddie, S. H., Bucholz, K. K. et al. (2002). Association between self-reported childhood sexual abuse and adverse psychosocial outcomes: Results from a twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 59(2), 139-45.

Arata, C. M. (2002). Child sexual abuse and sexual revictimization. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 9(2), 135-164.

Fleming, J., Mullen, P. E., Sibthorpe, B., & Bammer, G. (1999). The long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse in Australian women. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 145-159.

Vandiver, D., Braithwaite, J., & Stafford, M. (2017). Sex crimes and sex offenders: Research and realities. NY: Routledge

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/trauma-sexual-assault-and-eating-disorders

Moe is an adjunct lecturer of criminal justice at California State University, Fullerton, where she teaches courses in Juvenile Justice and Corrections. She received her Master of Science degree from California State University, Los Angeles in Criminal Justice Administration. Her research includes trauma and delinquency, youth services, and juvenile justice reform. She has worked as a youth advocate in the juvenile justice field for over twenty years.

Guy is a fellow at the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, a 2019 JustLeadershipUSA fellow, and a writer with bylines in The Appeal, Slate, and other outlets. His work focuses primarily on the ways in which legal responses to sexual violence are ineffective and harmful, particularly focusing on post-sentence registration laws and indefinite civil imprisonment. You can read his writing on his website, https://guyhamiltonsmith.com and follow him via Twitter, @G_Padraic.

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