December 12, 2023 • 60 mins
Rape Culture and the Long Road to Healing
Trigger Warning: This hour includes descriptions of sexual assault, rape, and victim-blaming.
Lenny Gagnon’s whole world turned up-side-down when her father died in a mill accident when she was 6 years old. At 7 she was groomed and then sexually assaulted by the neighborhood pedophile. And she was raped again at 15. When she reported the last one, the cop who interviewed her also assaulted her. At the hearing, she was grilled and shredded about her character (swearing and sexual history [ie rape]) and based on that the judge refused to go ahead with charging her rapist because he didn’t believe she was of chaste character. Second wave feminists had yet to fight to ensure that victims of sexual assault were treated with care and dignity at police stations and in courtrooms. The trauma Lenny experienced caused depression which ultimately led to her being given anti-depressants and then eventually one that caused her to experience mania. Because of the mania, she was put on neuroleptics or anti-psychotics which caused other debilitating side effects. After decades of being on these medications she finally found a psychiatrist who would wean her off these drugs and help her as she transitioned to CBD oil with THC. Today, Lenny is healthy, living her best life with her loving partner Tom. Lenny is a story of survival and victory.
Music by Shari Ulrich and Lyndsey Ell
Trigger Warning: This hour includes descriptions of sexual assault, rape, and victim-blaming.
Lenny Gagnon’s whole world turned up-side-down when her father died in a mill accident when she was 6 years old. At 7 she was groomed and then sexually assaulted by the neighborhood pedophile. And she was raped again at 15. When she reported the last one, the cop who interviewed her also assaulted her. At the hearing, she was grilled and shredded about her character (swearing and sexual history [ie rape]) and based on that the judge refused to go ahead with charging her rapist because he didn’t believe she was of chaste character. Second wave feminists had yet to fight to ensure that victims of sexual assault were treated with care and dignity at police stations and in courtrooms. The trauma Lenny experienced caused depression which ultimately led to her being given anti-depressants and then eventually one that caused her to experience mania. Because of the mania, she was put on neuroleptics or anti-psychotics which caused other debilitating side effects. After decades of being on these medications she finally found a psychiatrist who would wean her off these drugs and help her as she transitioned to CBD oil with THC. Today, Lenny is healthy, living her best life with her loving partner Tom. Lenny is a story of survival and victory.
Music by Shari Ulrich and Lyndsey Ell
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