Bravely: Trafficking & Trauma Survivors

If you are interested in or concerned about human trafficking, this episode is a must listen. We are hearing more and more about human trafficking in the United States, including warning signs and who to contact if you suspect trafficking. What we do NOT hear about is what happens to women who have been trafficked and are able to move on from this imposed life. They escape sometimes with little more than their lives. A large number of the women suffer from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and often have co-occurring substance dependence. But we don't hear about the survivors and what they have to go through to rebuild their lives. Why is that?

In this episode we have a powerful discussion with Hope Jernagan, the Executive Director of Magdalene of St. Louis, and the Bravely company. We also hear the empowering story of recovery from Anika, who is a resident of Magdalene and an employee of Bravely. Our discussion with these two amazing women highlights the array of services that can successfully help women onto the path of recovery and support them as they get back on their feet, and as they use their recovery experience to help other women as well.

RECUT: Reflections on Elections

I discuss the tumultuous and difficult reverberations resulting from the rise in toxic masculinity, and the impact it has had on women, policy and politics with my guest, Amee Vanderpool. Amee is an attorney licensed in Washington, DC and Washington State, a writer, and the Director of the Inanna Project. She is also well known for her significant presence on Twitter as @girlsreallyrule. For more information on The Inanna Project, which advocates for equal protection under the law. Visit www.theinannaproject.org for more information or to find out how you can support their work. And listen to this episode as we discuss the full ramifications of the 2016 presidential election

RECUT: Living in Conflict Zones: Women, Children & Survival

Women and children living in conflict zones are among the most disenfranchised individuals in our world today. They subsist in the midst of violence, chaos, failed states, refugee camps, crumbling systems and destroyed infrastructure. Despite this, every day women try to hold their families together. Feed their children. Care for the young, the elderly, the sick. They give birth, and often they die during childbirth. And they are also victims.

Gender-based violence in conflict zones has become not just a reality, but a tactic of war. Women and children are the most frequent victims because of their status in society, and their gender. Wide scale and systematic rape has been deployed in many conflicts, and survivors are sometimes blamed.

In this episode I have a fascinating discussion with Annie Agle about women and children living in conflict zones, the difficulties they face, and the shocking ways they are victimized by perpetrators as well as their culture sometimes.

Reflections on Elections

I discuss the tumultuous and difficult reverberations resulting from the rise in toxic masculinity, and the impact it has had on women, policy and politics with my guest, Amee Vanderpool. Amee is an attorney licensed in Washington, DC and Washington State, a writer, and the Director of the Inanna Project. She is also well known for her significant presence on Twitter as @girlsreallyrule. For more information on The Inanna Project, which advocates for equal protection under the law. Visit www.theinannaproject.org for more information or to find out how you can support their work.

Politics, Aggression, & Women's Malaise

The level of rancor and divisiveness in our country right now is hard to miss or deny. In the midst of this ugly political discourse, the status of women has been under attack with some particularly misogynistic elements being given a platform, and some might say tacit approval in the lack of outrage or pushback.

This general feeling of a diminishment of women weighs heavily on many, often not even aware that it is there. I speak with my guest, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, who talks about how the generally aggressive public discourse about women has impacted those who have experienced trauma in the past and find themselves triggered by this new and negative norm. We discuss signs to watch for in yourself, and in those you care for to be sure you are taking care of yourself and each other.