30. Leanne Cameron: New to Telling Her Story, and Grateful She Did! WARNING: This episode is explicit and detailed in the descriptions of rape and sexual assault. It is not appropriate for children, and extreme discretion is advised in keeping the listening audience restricted to only appropriately aged and emotionally capable persons. As with every victim/survivor who has been a guest on my show, the impact of their story has been evident and palpable, and it has made a difference in someone's life. It's the reason this podcast exists, and it's why I am honored and privileged every time a survivor agrees to talk with me. But it never ceases to amaze me when someone reaches out to me, instead of me reaching out to them. Such is the case with this episode: as a response to last week's invitation to email me if one of you, my listeners, wanted to be considered to be on this show, Leanne Cameron emailed me and shared her story of being raped as a child. Her story was compelling, and I immediately wrote back to Leanne. Those emails led to me having the privilege of having a Zoom call with Leanne, at first with the intention of discussing the possibility of having her on this show; but it only took about one minute to determine that Leanne would make an exceptional guest. She came across as articulate, able, and willing to tell her story. And it was obvious that telling her story would impact many listeners in very positive ways. It is an honor to introduce you to Leanne Cameron. Leanne's desire in being on the show is to help other victims and survivors realize that they are not alone while, at the same time, bringing awareness to the magnitude of the widespread scourge of rape and sexual assault. Leanne has a deep desire to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault, and felt that by telling her story, and telling others to Start by Believing, she would accomplish this, and more; in her words, "I want to change people's perceptions of victims, stop victim blaming, help Start by Believing, and understand why we can't talk about [rape] straightaway." Well, Leanne, you've got a great start on all of this. And it's a job well done. Please listen to this episode, then tell everyone you know to give it a listen. And please rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast…even if you don't listen to every episode; your listening helps bring justice to victims and survivors, and helps this podcast grow! Thank you for being a part of these efforts. It matters, because we all know someone whose life has been affected by rape or sexual assault. And by the way, if you're a victim or survivor of rape, sexual assault, or any type of interpersonal violence, and you would like to be a guest on this show, email me…let's talk about it! [email protected] https://markel-consulting.com https://www.thejanbrobergfoundation.org/ https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/a-friend-of-the-family https://startbybelieving.org