Molly Snook is a gym goer, a certified personal trainer and EMT, and a survivor of sexual abuse.

When Molly Snook first disclosed her assault, she received a mixed bag of reactions and some people didn’t support her. She told her clinician at the time and described how that experience was like for her.

Jerome Whitehead is an author, husband, and survivor of multiple childhood sexual assaults. “When you’re groomed, you’re taught to keep secrets. You don’t even realize that you’re being groomed to keep secrets.”

Nelson Hincapie is a husband, father, Colombian-American, and president and CEO of the Voices For Children Foundation. He is also a survivor of child sexual abuse. “I don’t think it’s talked about at all. I think that for heterosexual men to be abused in their childhood by adult males it is a source of great shame and deep wounds."

Justine Baker is a Native American artist, advocate, and survivor of sex trafficking and abuse. “As my descendants come across my name, I don’t want them to come across the horrors I went through. I want them to see this article, and read that I’m a survivor.”

Nicole is strongly connected to her Peruvian heritage and is dedicated to her faith community. She is also a survivor of child sexual abuse. “I don’t know if anyone can understand this, but my faith healed me. I just know that I’ll be okay. I’m no longer just trying to survive, life is about living everyday to your greatest potential.”

Lorward is faith-oriented, a dedicated friend, and a writer. He also experienced sexual violence during his first year of college. “Every level of campus—roommates, RAs, school counselors, therapists, and the administration—needs to be part of this. We need an increase in capacity and programs so that students can get the help they need and administrators and therapists aren’t too swamped. We need to make resources known on campus.”

Desarae Garcia is a social worker, mother, podcast creator, storyteller, and survivor of child sexual abuse. “I’m a huge advocate for people to be trauma informed. If someone tells you they’ve been abused, believe them. If it’s too much for you to handle, find someone else who can help.”

Pierre Chambers is a leader in his church, musician, father, and survivor of child sexual abuse. He experienced child sexual abuse between the ages of 12 and 15. The perpetrator was the youth pastor at his church, a close family friend. As the choir director, the perpetrator was also a charismatic and important leader in the church. “We’ve all heard about child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, so through my story, I want to shed light on how this also happens in other faith comunities.”

Gail Gardner is a pastoral counselor, advocate, listener, writer, and survivor of sexual violence. One of the phrases Gail says she often hears from survivors is: “there was no one there for me.” After experiencing both supportive and unsupportive reactions to what happened to her, Gail knows how much of a difference it can make when someone listens and believes you. “Telling your story will be the beginning of your healing. You will see light at the end of the tunnel.”