Finding Healing After Abuse: Kavanaugh, Sexual Assault, and Me Too - w/ Nicole Bromley

Episode • Oct 8, 2018 • 49m

How courageously telling your story can interrupt cycles of silence, shame, and secrecy—especially in the church. Mike welcomes author and activist Nicole Braddock Bromley for a powerful and vulnerable conversation about surviving childhood sexual abuse, sharing her story publicly at age 15, and how that one act unlocked voices of countless others suffering in silence. Nicole shares the painful truth about why abuse often remains hidden in churches and affluent communities and offers a compelling challenge to the church to step into transparency, healing, and active prevention.

From her journey of healing to advocacy through her organizations OneVOICE and OneVOICE4Freedom, Nicole unpacks how the Church's image-obsessed culture often suppresses conversations that could set people free—especially women and children. The episode also explores current events like the Kavanaugh hearings and the MeToo/ChurchToo movements, laying bare how politicizing survivors' stories causes further trauma. This episode is both heartbreaking and hopeful, a necessary listen for anyone seeking to become an ally to victims of abuse and a faithful representative of Jesus.

Key Takeaways: • Understanding the Long-Term Effects of Abuse – Nicole opens up about how years of hiding her secret affected her identity and mental health and how breaking her silence became the first step toward healing. • The Power of Vulnerability – How sharing her story at age 15 sparked others to come forward and say “Me too,” showing the radical impact of one person’s courage. • Abuse and the Church – Why church culture can make abuse harder to detect and disclose, and how image-protection often trumps victim protection. • Navigating the MeToo and Kavanaugh Era – Nicole discusses the emotional toll of public disbelief, victim-blaming, and how these dynamics retraumatize survivors. • Raising Kids for Justice and Empathy – Insightful and urgent conversations about how to raise boys and girls in a sexually exploited culture, moving beyond “consent” toward honor, accountability, and mutual respect.

Guest Highlight: Nicole Braddock Bromley – An author, speaker, and survivor-advocate, Nicole is the founder of OneVOICE, empowering abuse survivors to find healing and purpose, and OneVOICE4Freedom, combating child sex trafficking through education and prevention in the U.S. and abroad. Her books include Hush, Breathe, and Soar.

Resources Mentioned: • Nicole’s ministry and nonprofit – iamonevoice.org • OneVOICE on Instagram – @iamonevoice • Sexual Abuse and Recovery Statistics – RAINN.org • "Hush: Moving from Silence to Healing After Childhood Sexual Abuse" – Nicole Braddock Bromley • "Soar: A Next Step in Healing from Sexual Abuse" – Nicole Braddock Bromley

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Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

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