105. Ashley Fajardo: Sharing Her Walk Through the Daily Struggle of Trauma and Healing

Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS

Ashley and I made our acquaintance when she reached out to me 7 months ago; she was making an inquiry about a criminal case that she was involved with regarding the rape report she had made with her local law enforcement agency. She was discouraged with not only how difficult it was to make the report to an investigator who was skeptical about her version of the experience, but also with how disheartened she had become over the way the case was investigated. Ultimately, as is a common happening in these types of cases, the case was closed and not prosecuted due to “insufficient evidence.” It is extremely frustrating for me to realize how, over and over, law enforcement agencies who do not have appropriate training in the neuroscience of trauma and memory, and what it means to be victim-centric in their investigative procedures, often overlook the psychophysiological evidence staring the investigators in the face, and choose to either not recognize it for what it is, or to ignore it; both are equally practiced.

It took several months of therapy, education, and time to heal for Ashley to get to this point: the point where she is not only willing to share her sexual assault and rape experiences with the public but is actually excited to do so because she knows how helpful it is when victims and survivors share their experiences publicly. Ashley has been through extensive therapy, but also has been trained in being trauma informed, and certified as a sexual assault victim advocate. She knows firsthand what it means to be trauma informed and knows firsthand what it feels like to make a report to a law enforcement agency whose officers are not trauma informed. Ashley is now on a mission, like me, to educate as many people as possible on the benefits of being trauma informed in sexual assault and rape cases. You’re going to be impressed with Ashley’s story, and with her fortitude in pursuing this mission.

Thank you for being here to listen to Ashley’s story. After you’ve heard this episode, please do all you can to share this episode with everyone you know. And also, to Start By Believing…because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault. Another big favor I would ask is that you rate and subscribe to this podcast. It all helps the podcast grow, which in turn helps bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault. Oh, and one more thing…please find the sexualassaultsurvivorstories page on Instagram and hit the follow button!!

Thank you for being part of my audience, and please consider being a regular listener and subscriber!

Please check out all this very important sites and links:

Ashley’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakingoutthepodcast?igsh=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA==

Ashley’s podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/31yylo5in5efvguxxcoh3hbaawpa?si=jIhRTjJeSLG1kaLNmpznsw

www.arcigrey.com

https://markel-consulting.com

https://startbybelieving.org

https://safeinharmsway.org

https://thejanbrobergfoundation.org

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