Shows
Beyond FearEpisode 26: Q&AAs we close out the season, we invite our listeners to submit any questions they may have for the season 2 finale! Send us any questions you may have at beyondfearpodcast@gmail.com
2022-09-2101 minBeyond FearEpisode 25: Sexual Harm in Religious SpacesThis episode of Beyond Fear is truly groundbreaking. We welcomed four esteemed guests - Nadiah Mohajir, MPH, Dr. Maryyum Mehmood, Dr. Guila Benchimol, and the Rev. Dr. Danielle Tumminio Hansen - to lead a discussion about sexual harm that occurs across different religions including Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. You may remember that we spoke to Dr. Karen Terry in Season 1 about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. That episode focused on the institutional response to the abuse that was eventually uncovered and what the data showed about those that experienced abuse and those that perpetrated it.
In t...2022-09-071h 45Beyond FearEpisode 24: Catching Up with Your Co-HostsWelcome to Episode 10 Beyond Fear listeners! We realized that it has been a while since we caught you up on the work that we have been doing outside of the podcast. In this episode, we interview each other about the projects that have been keeping us busy.
Alissa shares her journey of co-founding Ampersands Restorative Justice – an organization dedicated to restoring the world from sexual harm. Among other things, Ampersands facilitates restorative processes for cases of sexual harm and trains other folks to facilitate these cases. Alissa shares what it has been like to see her dream bec...2022-08-241h 06Beyond FearEpisode 23: Broken Trust: When Institutions Fail SurvivorsThroughout this podcast, we have discussed the ways in which sexual harm impacts survivors psychologically, emotionally, and physically. A less talked about consequence stems from abuse that occurs within the context of institutional environments that are expected to be safe.
In this episode we speak to Dr. Caroline Heldman an expert on the consequences of sexual harm that takes place within institutional environments. Institutional betrayal refers to the harm that an institution does to those who depend on it. As you will hear, this betrayal can be explicit policies or when an institution fails to respond to s...2022-08-1057 minBeyond FearEpisode 22: Invisible Victims: Black Survivors of Sexual HarmIn our last episode, Who is the Ideal Victim? we spoke with Dr. Danielle Slakoff about media depictions of survivors of interpersonal and sexual harm. Specifically, we unpacked the way that race influences media narratives about who qualifies as a “real victim” worthy of help and sympathy. Black and Latina victims are frequently portrayed as somehow to blame for their victimization.
The sexual harm experienced by Black women and girls is often undisclosed, unaddressed, and unseen. In this episode, Dr. Carolyn M. West and Dr. LaDonna Long share their work that exposes the ways in whi...2022-07-131h 10Beyond FearEpisode 21: Who is the ’Ideal Victim’?Throughout season 1, we have discussed how society, often times through the media, blames survivors of sexual violence. Frequently, media portrayals impact trial outcomes, a survivor’s willingness to report, and more. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Danielle Slakoff, a professor and prominent researcher that studies the ways in which the media inaccurately portrays survivors of domestic violence and sexual harm.
During the episode, we also talk about ‘the ideal victim’. According to her research and analysis of newspaper stories, women that are missing, that experience sexual harm or domestic abuse are portrayed differently based on race. T...2022-06-2956 min
Beyond FearEpisode 20: Child Sexual Abuse Material: One Click AwayChild sexual abuse material (CSAM), previously known as child pornography, can be a confronting and uncomfortable topic. CSAM can refer to the possession, viewing, sharing, and creation of images or videos that involve the visual depiction of children involved in a act. Although CSAM was almost completely eradicated in the 1980s, the dawn of the Internet ushered the proliferation of it. The anonymity of the Internet and the ease of sharing digital images of children makes this material ‘one click away’.
During this episode, we speak to Nicholas a person who was convicted of and served prison time...2022-06-151h 08
Beyond FearEpisode 19: Surviving TraffickingEpisode 5 is the last part of our series of episodes dedicated to human trafficking. In this episode, you will hear Jess’s story of surviving trafficking. Our conversation exposes some of the many myths about the crime of human trafficking (which often includes trafficking), including who perpetrates it, who experiences it, and the context within which it occurs.
Traffickers do not usually target victims they do not know. In fact, like other types of sexual harm, survivors are usually trafficked by someone they know, such as a family member. People often assume that trafficking involves traveling or tra...2022-06-011h 21
Beyond FearEpisode 18: Understanding Trafficking: Part 2Human trafficking is an incredibly complex issue that includes several different important topics we felt should be covered during our second season. Due to this complexity, we agreed to dedicate three episodes to cover it.
Welcome to Understanding Trafficking Part 2! During this episode, we speak with Dr. Casey Branchini Risko, an expert on international labor and trafficking. The interview with Dr. Branchini Risko gives further insight into the many ways that trafficking is associated with other crimes perpetrated against the most vulnerable people in societies across the globe. Importantly, Dr. Branchini Risko also emphasizes...2022-05-181h 01Beyond FearEpisode 17: Understanding Trafficking: Part IHuman trafficking has moved into the public consciousness as a serious offense both domestically and internationally. Over the course of the next three episodes of Beyond Fear, we will cover trafficking from the perspective of researchers and a survivor.
Human trafficking, including trafficking, is a multi-billion-dollar industry that impacts an estimated 24.9 million people globally. In the U.S., human trafficking is defined as using force, fraud, or coercion, to compel a person into commercial acts or labor services against their will. In some instances, people are trafficked for the purpose of commercial and in ot...2022-05-041h 02
Beyond FearEpisode 16: Understanding WorkThe topic of work can illicit strong stereotypes, incorrect assumptions, and ill-advised suggestions on how this issue should or should not be addressed by the criminal legal system and society in general. Regardless of what comes to mind, people who engage in work frequently face dehumanizing treatment simply based on what they do for a living – who they ARE is rarely part of the equation.
Our goal this season was to humanize many of the controversial and misunderstood topics related to sexual harm by speaking to the people directly impacted by them. In “Understanding Work” we speak to Siv...2022-04-2049 min
Beyond FearWelcome to Season 2 of Beyond Fear: The Crimes PodcastWelcome to Season 2 of Beyond Fear: The Crimes Podcast. We are so excited to share this new
season with you. This time around, we will be diving deeper into critical issues related to crimes.
Many of the episodes feature people directly impacted by these topics. Guests include experts as well as
people that are directly impacted by them.
We are also excited to announce that we have joined the Article III podcasting network. During this
episode, we talk to Dr. Meghan Sacks and Dr. Amy Schlosberg...2022-04-0651 minBeyond FearBonus Episode: The Things Left UnsaidThroughout the first season of Beyond Fear: The Crimes Podcast, we have received dozens of questions and comments from listeners. The conversations we have had one-on-one with each other and those we have had with some of you who have reached out have affirmed our belief that the work we do and the way we accomplish it are both incredibly important.
We’ve learned over the years that bringing our full selves to the table is critical. It is with that lesson in mind that we bring you the bonus episode of season one. As we noted, we...2020-12-0255 minBeyond FearEpisode 13: Get Curious
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2020-11-111h 00Beyond FearEpisode 12: Building a Better LifeIn Episode 12 of Beyond Fear, we interview David Prescott, an internationally known expert on treatment for those who sexually offend.
A mental health practitioner of 36 years, David Prescott is the Editor of Safer Society Press. He is the author and editor of 20 books in the areas of understanding and improving services to at-risk clients. He is best known for his work in the areas of understanding, assessing, and treating sexual violence and trauma. Mr. Prescott is the recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Contribution Award from the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers and the 2018 recipient of the...2020-10-2149 minBeyond FearEpisode 11: ”Do Women Do Those Things?!”The image that comes to mind when we think about a person who commits a sexual offense is more often than not, male. While it is true that the vast majority of sexual harm around the world is committed by men, women can – and do – commit crimes. In this episode of Beyond Fear, Alissa interviews Alexa about her expertise on female sexual offending. Alexa sheds light on this important, understudied and often misunderstood issue.
The names that come to mind when we think about women who sexuall offend are those that have become household names: Mary Kay Leto...2020-10-0747 minBeyond FearEpisode 10: Once You See, You Can’t Unsee
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2020-09-2356 minBeyond FearEpisode 9: Why Should I Care?!In Episode 9, “Why Should I Care?!”, Alexa interviews Dr. Alissa Ackerman about crimes policies in the U.S. Alissa is widely considered an expert on crimes policy and much of her research has examined the efficacy of the offense registry, residence restrictions, and community notification. Notably, her research, and that of most other researchers, have found that crimes policies have done nothing to make society safer and have not reduced rates of sexual violence since their implementation.
In this episode, we discuss two policies that apply only to those who have committed what the law define...2020-09-0948 minBeyond FearEpisode 8: The Deliberate ShiftResearch shows that, like people who commit other crimes, those who sexually offend also desist from offending. This is both hard to hear and important to acknowledge. In Episode 8 of Beyond Fear, we made the deliberate decision to pivot from conversations about survivor experiences to a focus on the experience of individuals who have sexually offended.
When we first started studying sexual violence, we both wanted to study the effects of victimization, but it didn't take us much time to figure out that in order to stop sexual violence we had to go further upstream. Victimization doesn't e...2020-08-2635 minBeyond FearEpisode 7: The Second RapeThe Beyond Fear Podcast is one continuous story, where episodes build from one to the next with the ability to reach back to previous episodes when necessary. Yet, when we started writing the story in episode 1, we didn’t fully recognize the impact that telling the story would have on us. Recording Episode 7 was one of those experiences that is hard to put into words.
In this Episode, we sit down with Alexa’s mom, Stacey Branchini, for a intimate, unscripted and candid conversation about the impact of a criminal trial on a survivor and their family. Ofte...2020-08-1245 minBeyond FearEpisode 6: How Hasn’t it Affected Me?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 s...2020-07-291h 10Beyond FearEpisode 5: The Weaponization of Sexual ViolenceIn Episode 5 of Beyond Fear: The Crimes Podcast, Alexa and Alissa interview Dr. Nicole Fox, an assistant professor in the Criminal Justice Division at CSUS whose current research focuses on how post-genocide communities remember violence through the creation of national collective memories embodied in memorials and monuments. In “The Weaponization of Sexual Violence” we talk about rape as it is used during war and genocide.
At the 18:00 minute mark in this episode, Dr. Fox mentions an article that has the most accurate counts of the number of rapes that occurred during the Rwandan genocide. You can access that...2020-07-1540 minBeyond FearEpisode 4: The Many Reasons WhyIn Episode 4: The Many Reasons Why, Alexa and Alissa breakdown some of the various reasons why people commit acts of child sexual abuse and rape. It might come as a surprise, but there is not one reason why these kinds of offenses happen. In order to prevent future crimes from happening and to ensure that people who do sexually offend get the help they need, it is crucial that we understand the factors that lead to offending behavior in the first place.
In this episode, we bust some myths about sexual offending and provide some insight into...2020-07-0137 minBeyond FearEpisode 3: Understanding Sexual Abuse in the Catholic ChurchIn Episode 3, Alexa and Alissa interview Dr. Karen Terry about her research on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Karen J. Terry is a Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She holds a doctorate in Criminology from Cambridge University. Her primary research interest is sexual offending and victimization and offender policy. Her current research focus is on the abuse of children in an institutional setting, and she was the principal investigator for two studies on sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests in the United States.
The interview delves...2020-06-1735 minBeyond FearEpisode 2: Into the Weeds: Measuring Silence“It depends…”
This is the language that research often use when people ask them questions about sources of data.
This is because the findings we obtain in our research depend on how we ask questions, when we ask questions, who asks the questions, etc. There are also different methods for obtaining data and just because two data sources provide different data doesn’t mean that either is incorrect. It depends…
In episode 2, Into the Weeds: Measuring Silence, Alexa and Alissa talk about the major sources of counting sexual crimes that occur in the United Sta...2020-06-0842 minBeyond FearEpisode 1: Ride or DieIn episode one of Beyond Fear: The Crimes Podcast, Alexa and Alissa introduce themselves, their stories, and their commitment to understanding every aspect of sexual harm as crimes experts and as rape survivors.
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2020-05-1735 min