Dear Katie: Survivor Stories

'When you look at it, in the bigger spectrum, we can talk about this [...] I mean, fifteen years ago, a high-schooler wouldn't be talking to you about consent.'

Pamela Zaballa has dedicated over 20 years to advancing support systems for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Her career spans various roles in the US and UK, including frontline services, shelter development, advocacy, children's services, and setting up programs fo...

Review this classic episode featuring Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet on making black survivors visible. 

Sisters can either be torn apart or drawn together due to sexual violence. Rutgers professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Salamishah Tillet and her sister, artist and curator Scheherazade Tillet, drew together after Salamishah shared her rape story. Together they co-founded "A Long Walk Home" to help Black women and girls share...

Journalist Amanda Eisenberg shares her experiences reporting on sexual violence, informing us about her obligations as a journalist as well as her practices to ensure the safety of survivor interviewees. A Manhattan-based writer, her debut novel, People Are Talking, was released in April. She was inspired to write her book, which deals with sexual misconduct on a college campus, from her journalistic experience. Amanda hopes her no...

'If I feel awful and disgusting, then I'm going to put on a mask.'

Exploring the psychological depths of sexual shame, Dr. Tina Sellers shares cutting-edge research on the cycles of guilt that inhibit our relationships. Bringing to light how our judgements can prevent us from living freely, she provides insight into how to heal from this shame and raise children who feel confident and assertive for their safety. 

Dr. Tina Schermer ...

'Most people are good people... [they] most of the time have just been through horrific trauma.'

Dr. Renee Rosiecki is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in trauma-informed care. She has worked in various settings, including non-profits, correctional facilities, outpatient behavioral health, a hospital system, and a medication-assisted treatment facility. Her work has focused on survivors, from responding to college cri...

Listen and learn from our fantastic special guest in this classic interview on the Dear Katie Podcast. 

'The body just reignites the horrible experience. It's just like you're there.'

Sanar Alixandyr is an Empowerment Coach whose mission is to uplift, support, and heal the planet by empowering those who are ready to step into their greatness and become their most powerful, authentic selves. Her passion is being of service to the greater vision of the transformation and evolution of women in the world and offers her own story, "Becomi...

Dr. Nicole Bedera is a sociologist and author of the book On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence. Her research broadly focuses on how our social structures contribute to survivors’ trauma and make sexual violence more likely to occur in the future. Her scholarship has influenced sexual violence prevention programming across the country and her work has been featured in many ...

Mary Ann Sieghart is a journalist, broadcaster, author, TED speaker, and consultant. Her bestselling book, The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Still Taken Less Seriously Than Men, and What We Can Do About It came out in 2021 and has struck a chord around the world, resonating with many women devalued in working spaces. She is a Visiting Professor at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London and was Chair of ...

Svava Brooks is a survivor of child sexual abuse and the co-founder of a nationwide child sexual abuse prevention and education organization in Iceland called “Blátt áfram.” She is also a certified instructor and facilitator for Darkness to Light Stewards of Children, as well as a certified Crisis Intervention Specialist, a certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, a BellaNet Teen support group facilitator, a Certified TRE® Pr...

Find new insights from this classic episode featuring Greg Kolwicz and Marcel Anderson. 

As a boy, Greg was groomed by an older friend, who showed him pornography for the first time and pushed him to engage in sexual acts. He struggled to accept that this abuse happened to him as a man and couldn’t share his experience for a decade.

As a young adult, Marcel suffered intense physical and sexual abuse after being held at gunpoint by ...

'The adrenaline in my body was like nothing I've ever felt.' 

Ten years ago, Derrick's world was rocked when his daughter was raped by a police officer. Fighting for justice in a system built against survivors, he pushes to have her voice heard. Derrick walks us through the experience of being a supportive parent during the aftermath of sexual assault, guiding us through the ways he cared for his daughter and fought for justice. 

D...

'Sometimes I don't want to be a warrior anymore.'

Dianne Braley is a Massachusetts-based, multi-award-winning author and nurse. During the process of writing her second novel, a person in her family was charged and convicted of sexual assault. This turned Dianne and her family's world on its head and led her to take on writing the book in the voice of a secondary victim, the perpetrator's daughter. Although fiction, this book was l...

This week, walk through the inner workings of the mind with therapist Rachel Stanton. She shares how she works with clients to process traumatic memories and creates emotional safety to address difficult feelings. 

Rachel Stanton is a psychotherapist with a practice in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. She specializes in helping people heal after traumas like sexual assault, and offers EMDR intensives that help people get better in d...

'That's how they evade justice ... they drop out of school and that Title IX case goes away.' 

'No record is ever made.' 

Tracy DeTomasi is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked in the field of gender based violence for nearly 25 years. As the CEO of Callisto, she is bringing innovative technology as a solution to addressing sexual assault. Callisto is a national nonprofit organization leveraging cutting-edge technology ...

Valarie Clark Miller seemed to live a picture-perfect life, but her flawless facade masked a haunting past. Suffering a lifetime of abuse that eventually takes her life, her fight for justice continues with a newly released book, Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country, featuring the perspectives of her family. John R. Miller shares his experience navigating the cultures that protect sexual p...

Today, we're joined by Reneé Rodriguez, founder of Best Foot Forward Consulting and creator of The Custody Blueprint®, who empowers parents navigating custody battles with narcissistic co-parents.  Drawing from her own experience and a diverse background in education, coaching, and strategic planning, Reneé provides a proven framework for presenting evidence effectively in court.  She helps parents, often victims of psychological a...

'My father would beat my mother, and my mother would blame me. 

Speaking about her experience growing up in a turbulent home, Sabrina Osso sheds light on the patterns of abuse and violence that encompassed her childhood. Fueled by the journey out of her early traumatic life, she dedicates herself to improving families and creating safe homes through her business, Osso Safe. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrin...

Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning author and activist. As a cultural critic, she writes and speaks frequently about gender norms, politics, and technology and their relationship to violence, risk, and social justice. She is the former Executive Director of The Representation Project and Director and co-founder of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project, both dedicated to protecting and expanding women's civic and political partici...