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Every time we talk about domestic violence and sexual abuse on this podcast the story is different, and this episode is no different.

Alyson Richelle is a former Senior Sergeant with the NSW Police turned lived-experience advocate, speaker, and founder of What They Don’t Tell You, a movement amplifying the voices of survivors and exposing the hidden impacts of coercive control, invisible disabilities, and systemic failure.

Alyson has lived both sides of the system, professionally as a frontline officer, and personally as a survivor of domestic abuse, chronic illness, and the relentless aftermath of post-separation trauma. She’s also a mother of three neurodivergent children and a tireless advocate for those navigating broken systems like Family Court, NDIS, Centrelink, housing, and worker’s compensation. Her work calls attention to the often-unseen abuse that continues after the violence stops through silence, disbelief, and bureaucracy.

In this episode she shares:

• What drew her to join the police force
• The biggest challenge she faced during her 15 years in the police
• What it was like being in a coercive and abusive relationship without realising
• Her story of sexual abuse and how it is often dismissed when it occurs in a marriage
• Why her abuse was dismissed and the flaws in the system preventing people from getting help
• What we need to change to prevent her story being repeated
• The meaning of coercive control
• What was the hardest part about being in these abusive relationships while still in the police force
• Her biggest lesson from this experience

Key Quotes

“Especially being a young female you became a real big target.”

“Sexual abuse in a marriage is so dismissed, it's like the other person has a right.”

More about Alyson

Follow her on Instagram, Linkedin and her community.

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If you want to contact the podcast, email us here: [email protected] Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com

If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au

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