Meet Nicole: A mother Advocating For Survivors With Disabilities

Meet Nicole. Nicole is focused on helping victims of sexual violence with disabilities and their families to seek justice through her organization Voices of Change. She uses her personal experiences with the criminal justice system to help others in similar situations advocate for their justice. 

Nicole participated as a panelist in We Are HER’s upcoming Trauma Recovery panel. Here’s more about Nicole.

HER: Tell us more about your organization.

Nicole: Voices of Change addresses the much-needed advocacy and assistance for survivors with disabilities and their families. Voices of Change focuses on helping families seek justice within the criminal justice system, by providing experienced staff and volunteers to assist them. In addition, we provide access to recovery through trauma-informed and trauma-responsive mental health clinicians skilled in working with persons with disabilities.

HER: What would you say is the largest stigma about those with disabilities and sexual abuse?

Nicole: In my opinion, the largest stigma about individuals with disabilities and sexual abuse is they don’t have feelings about what happened. That is the furthest thing from the truth. PTSD, anxiety, and depression are all very real in all individuals. In fact, those who have disabilities may even suffer more because they have a difficult time processing things.

HER: What do you hope viewers take away from this panel?

Nicole: A clearer understanding of the challenges individuals face when they are of a minority group who has been abused. I believe when society is better educated more people will begin to advocate for change so we can put an end to the international epidemic of sexual abuse. 

HER: Why did you choose to participate in this panel? 

Nicole: To help others understand from a parent with a disability’s perspective, what it’s like to find out your child was sexually abused or assaulted and how difficult it is to find support and receive justice. Also, I wanted to share our experience of how discriminated we have been throughout our process. 

Learn more about We Are HER’s Trauma Recovery Panel here.