Radio Toni Insights with Michelle Sleight and cohost Toni Lontis

Talking Points Radio Toni – Insight Making Sense of Sexual Assault with Michelle Sleight

• Welcome and intro – Listening live on FB, LI we have my EVA Pao ready and waiting to respond to your comments and questions with website links etc, like subscribe and email, radiotoni.com bbsradio.com/radiotoni, big shout out and thankyou.

• Today’s guest is the beautiful Michelle Sleight who as you can see is right here in the studio with me! This is the second of 6 shows having an open discussion about sexual assault.

TONI - An Empowered Survivor, Michelle knows the difference between being empowered and just surviving.

Michelle was the victim of 6 rapes and one sexual assault beginning at 5 years of age, has experienced the persecution and challenges of her permanent pain work-related injury, has been stalked and powerless, and has lost some close to her to domestic murder.

Now Michelle helps people to stop being at the mercy of their trauma and triggers.

Michelle is an advocate for change in sexual assault culture, and for those who have experienced sexual assault, and in 1997 set a legal precedent around sexual assault.

Michelle authored: “Insight Up Close and Personal Profile of Sexual Assault” for communities to better identify sexual predators and respond in a more resourceful way to the trauma of sexual assault.

Michelle has the processes and knowledge that set her, and clients, permanently free of trauma, triggers, and PTSD.

Today’s topics are of a sensitive nature so please reach out and connect and talk to someone if you experience and pain listening to us today.

1. This week we want to tackle the topic of childhood sexual abuse. Michelle how does childhood sexual assault and abuse play out in the lives of children, what did it look like for you?

• Statistics

• Typical sceneries

• Family friends and relatives vs stranger danger

• What to look for – your child’s behaviour, nightmares,

• What to observe – how to observe - How to notice the unnoticeable

• Can’t breathe, cant move, cant tell,

• When a child loves their abuser

2. Michelle how should we talk to our kids about this topic? What should we say? Toni’s car example

3. What is grooming and why should all parents know about this?

4. Why don’t kids tell? Threats, treats, power

5. Predators and vulnerability

6. What to do if your child discloses to you? Michelle’s story and Toni’s Story

7. Your best-selling book is called Insight – Up Close and personal profile of sexual assault – where can people get a copy?

Tonis Notes

• 41% of Australian adults (approximately 6.5 million) experienced at least one traumatic event before 17 years of age

• Those exposed to early trauma were 3.6 times more likely to have a mental health or substance use disorder and were up to 7 times more likely to have co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders compared to those without trauma exposure.

• Global statistics about childhood abuse and neglect show that between 15 and 50 per cent of children are subject to serious abuse and neglect within their own families, most often at the hands of a parent.

• experience of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) may impair long-term sexual functioning.

• Prevailing theories suggest re-victimisation is not the result of any one factor. Rather, it is the combination of different factors in survivors’ lives – some having to do with personal characteristics and experiences, others having to do with their environments.

• female survivors were more likely than male survivors to experience sexual re-victimisation

• 1 billion children aged 2–17 years, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect in the past year 

• Africa and Asia are among the regions with the highest rates of child sexual abuse (CSA) in the world

• 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys USA Cost is 9.3 billion