Survivor Talks: A journey to what made this podcast so special

Via: Made on Canva by Shivani Devika

When I first started to think about starting a podcast that centred around sexual violence, I thought it was ridiculous. Who in the right mind would want to listen to me and my guests speak about sexual violence prevention and education?

My imposter syndrome hit me at once, and I quickly buried the idea to the back of my brain knowing damn well this was something I did want to take on, but didn't know how to come about it.

It wasn't until the end of 2021 started to draw closer that I decided to give it a shot.

For starters, I hate speaking. I'm anti-social woman who has no idea how to start conversations, keep a conversation going, let alone manage my intense anxiety that arises when I meet new people, including friendships that I want to last forever, but don't know how to manage.

I've always enjoyed being in my own space and company. But, as I started to enter the arts + activism field, with a passion to voice out educational and personal opinions, I've come to realize that I couldn't hide in my shell any longer, and would need to take baby steps to create connections and find a sense of belonging for those who were like me.

I eventually brought out my laptop, and wrote a whole plan on how I wanted to approach this podcast with delicacy, care and compassion. After all, if I wanted to have guests on board who were once impacted by sexual violence, I needed the podcast to be a safe space where they would trust me, trust the project and my mission, vision and goals.

My passions and creativity to launch a podcast stemmed from not only my experiences with sexual violence, but also the many women I've come to meet online and even in my own life.

I won't lie, I wasn't always the best advocate for sexual violence. It took me 3 years to unlearn and relearn all the myths and stereotypes, some of which is still a learning journey for me to step out of my own biases and continue to educate myself whether it's through taking classes in school, or following activists who have been around longer than I have.

As a survivor, growing up I didn't know much about sexual violence, let alone what consent was, how to identify red flags, what a healthy relationship is, what coercion is -- the list goes on. These are things that students should learn in high school, but have failed to do so.

As I started to reach out to guests to be invited into the show, I initially thought that one season wouldn't be as successful and there would be no need to plan a second season. But, as my ideas started to branch out on my Google docs and more people started to reach out to me via DM on my Instagram telling me how they're so excited to wait for next week's episode and they can't wait for season two, I decided to keep this podcast going.

The next 5 seasons have already been planned out. Looking back at the past few months, it's insane to think that my creativity and passions have strung out a plan for the next two years.

As I dive deep into what season two would look like, I wanted to personally say thank you to those who have been supportive since day one, for those that have just joined me and are looking to be educated, and for those that have encouraged me to keep going.

It wasn't just me that made this happen, but also the guests on the show, some of which who have opened up about their experiences through raw and honest storytelling, allowing us to get a small glimpse into their window of healing.