Survivor Stories

Jerome Whitehead is an author, husband, and survivor of multiple childhood sexual assaults. “When you’re groomed, you’re taught to keep secrets. You don’t even realize that you’re being groomed to keep secrets.”

Kaylee Conway was sexually abused by an extended family member. As with most children experiencing sexual abuse, she didn’t have the words to understand what was happening at the time. “To me, there was always this elephant in the room. I wanted to talk about it, but didn’t know how. I thought that because they didn’t ask, they didn’t want to talk about it. I blamed a lot of my extended family members for not bringing it up, but I wasn’t ready for that conversation either.”

Dedeker Winston is an author, relationship coach, podcast host, and survivor of intimate partner violence. “What I want on a T-shirt or maybe my gravestone is the phrase ‘no jerk is worth it.’ You are worth so much more. Every single person is worth so much more than putting up with abusive behavior.”

Lorward is faith-oriented, a dedicated friend, and a writer. He also experienced sexual violence during his first year of college. “Every level of campus—roommates, RAs, school counselors, therapists, and the administration—needs to be part of this. We need an increase in capacity and programs so that students can get the help they need and administrators and therapists aren’t too swamped. We need to make resources known on campus.”