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VoicesHeard eZine_April_25
By Cheryle Gail
Cheryle Gail is the founder of Brave Voices, an initiative dedicated to breaking the silence that has allowed childhood sexual abuse to persist for generations.
Through Brave Voices, Cheryle creates space for survivors to share their lived experiences—unfiltered, unvarnished, and deeply necessary. Her work is rooted in the belief that by speaking openly about the realities of childhood sexual harm, society can finally confront its’ staggering prevalence and take responsibility for prevention.
Brave Voices hosts interviews with adult survivors through Archive StoryCorps, ensuring their lived experiences are permanently preserved in the Folk-life section of the Library of Congress. These interviews are not just testimonies—they are historical records of a crisis hidden in plain sight. While statistics suggest that one in three girls and one in five boys experience sexual harm before the age of 18, these numbers vastly underestimate the true scale of the crisis, as most survivors never report their abuse. Almost all the individuals interviewed through Brave Voices never
spoke up as children. Their silence was shaped by fear, shame, confusion, and a culture that refuses to see the truth—or to thoroughly care for and support the victims.
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND BRAVE VOICES
The inspiration for Brave Voices came after the murder of George Floyd. Though Cheryle never watched the video of the police officer’s knee on Floyd’s neck, she understood its‘ impact—how undeniable truth can force the world to change. In contrast, terms like “sexual abuse” or “sexual harm” often fail to convey the horror of what truly happens to a child. That’s why Brave Voices goes beyond labels. The project documents the precise realities: a grandfather who “loved” his grandchild, a trusted caregiver who crossed an unimaginable line, a mother unknowingly leaving her child alone with a predator. These lived experiences serve as evidence, undeniable and powerful, demanding acknowledgment and action.
Cheryle knows this work intimately because she, too, was harmed. Her abuser was her brother, ten years older, who had likely been harmed himself by a neighbor. His wife—who was present but complicit—had suffered abuse at the hands of four family members. It’s a cycle that has repeated
itself across generations, fueled by silence, ignorance, and shame. Cheryle believes that if open conversations about childhood sexual harm had been normalized, her brother and his wife might have sought help instead of numbing their pain with drugs and alcohol. Perhaps, in a world more willing to face this reality, her own abuse could have been prevented.
Determined to stop the cycle, Cheryle pursued education and healing. She earned an AA in Child Development and a BA in Early Childhood Education, dedicating her career to understanding childhood trauma and prevention. In 1988, she became a deep tissue therapeutic massage therapist, a practice that revealed firsthand the physical toll of childhood sexual harm.
Over decades of work, she observed patterns among survivors chronic jaw pain, migraines, digestive disorders, anxiety clear evidence that trauma is stored in the body.
BREAKING THE CYCLE THROUGH AWARENESS
Brave Voices amplifies the lived experiences of those who have endured sexual harm, shedding light on its devastating emotional, relational, and physical consequences. But its’ mission is not only to document the past—it is to change the future. The key to prevention lies in education and responsibility. Adults must stop relying on children to protect themselves. We tell kids to “say no” or “run,” but that is not enough— it has never been enough. The responsibility is on us, the adults, to ensure that no child is ever placed in a position where they must defend themselves against harm.
Brave Voices is a call to action. It urges parents to ask real questions, like:
What safeguards does my child’s school or daycare have in place to prevent one-on-one adult-child interactions?
Who is allowed to be alone with my child?
How do I educate my child without making them responsible for their own safety?
The reality is that 12-year-old boys are the most common perpetrators of sexual harm against younger children. This means that babysitting arrangements, play-dates, and sleepovers require more awareness than many adults realize. It’s time to face these uncomfortable truths—not with fear, but with knowledge and action.
A FUTURE WITHOUT SILENCE
Brave Voices is built on the belief that when adults normalize discussions about childhood sexual abuse prevention, predators lose their power. When a child hears adults openly discussing this reality, they understand that they, too, can speak up. Silence has always been the greatest weapon of abusers. Breaking that silence is the most powerful act of protection.
And so, Brave Voices continues its’ mission: to document, to expose, and to empower.
Anybody can interview anybody through the Brave Voices community page on Archive StoryCorps, ensuring that every survivor’s lived experience becomes part of the historical record. Through these testimonies, we learn what childhood sexual harm looks like, how it happens, and how we can stop it.
For Cheryle, this is more than a mission. It is a personal reckoning, a refusal to let future generations suffer in the same silence she once endured. Brave Voices exists so that, one day, no child will have to live in the aftermath of sexual harm.
In the following pages you will find some of the Brave Voices interviews through Archive StoryCorps. All interviews are by Cheryle Gail unless noted.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryle Gail has been given many nick names over her life:
Princess Peaches, Moon Beam, Hug Ambassador To The World, and Gypsy Grandma. All describe an aspect of her true nature as a Lover Of Life!
When not providing Therapeutic Massage to her clients of 36 years, she is off traveling the world, gardening, hiking the highest mountains she can find, ballroom dancing and most recently learning Argentine Tango.
Keep up with Cheryle’s work through BraveVoices.org
BRAVE VOICES... INTERVIEWS
CHERYLE GAIL, PART ONE
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF SILENCE
Cheryle Gail is interviewed by Beth Marer-Garcia, (my “sidekick/cheerleader/co-collaborator/inspiration) for Brave Voices. Cheryle shares her experience of childhood sexual abuse in order to break the cycle of silence that perpetuates children from continuing to be harmed.
Interview by Beth Marer-Garcia
Recorded August 3, 2020 • 43:39 minutes
CHERYLE GAIL, PART TWO
CHERYLE GAIL SPEAKS OUT
Through Brave Voices, Cheryle creates space for survivors to share their lived experiences—unfiltered, unvarnished, and deeply necessary.
Cheryle Gail, speaks out about her own experience of child sexual abuse and creating Brave Voices.
Interview by Babs' Walters
Recorded December 11, 2024 • 50:16 minutes
FEATHER
TEACHING PARENTS HOW TO PREVENT THEIR CHILD FROM BEING HARMED SEXUALLY.
Feather Berkower, author, advocate and member of Incest Aware, provides prevention education for parents, caregivers and youth organization administration and staff. Feather discuses prevention and body safety rules.
Recorded June 8, 2021 • 50:16 minutes
DONNA BULATOWICZ PART ONE
TRUST IN ONE’S SELF- EVEN WHEN YOUR VOICE SHAKES!
Dr. Donna Bulatowicz lives in the beautiful state of Montana. She studies and advocates for inclusive children’s literature as well as sexual abuse education and prevention. Donna shares about being groomed then harmed by her female school teacher.
Recorded December 5, 2023 • 39:34 minutes
DONNA BULATOWICZ, PART TWO
SPEAKING UP TAKES COURAGE
Donna discusses educating teachers about prevention, having an open door policy, volunteers in the class room, and how to ask kids,”tell me more.”
Recorded December 11, 2023 • 36:12 minutes
BRENDA CAVALLO
MY FIRST HERO IS MY SISTER MARCIA CROW.
A younger sister honors her older sister’s memory of abuse at Christmas time. Brave Voices gives survivors the opportunity to speak out.
Interview by Babs Walters
Recorded December 19, 2024 • 33:49 minutes
LAURA DAVIS
THE COURAGE TO HEAL
Laura Davis is a lifelong learner. She looks back on a life of writing through the process of CSA and connection—the challenges, healing with her mother, and emotional growth. She speaks on being a mother, as well as breaking the cycle of abuse by allowing children to have emotions and articulate them, respecting boundaries, and not being emotionally invasive.
Recorded May 18, 20211 • 49:29 minutes
RACHEL GRANT
TRAUMA IS NOT A LIFE SENTENCE!
Rachel Grant, founder of Rachel Grant Coaching and member of Incest Aware works with survivors of childhood sexual abuse to help them let go of the pain of abuse and finally feel normal. Rachel explains how hope inspires action.
January 8, 2024 • 38:17 minutes
DONNA JENSON
A LIFETIME OF ADVOCACY
Donna Jenson, author of Healing My Life; From Incest to Joy and founder of TimeToTell.org, and Cheryle Gail share the journey of moving through being harmed to being an adult who ‘Breaks The Silence’ that has perpetuated childhood sexual abuse for generations.
Recorded November 27, 2023 • 39:39 minutes
BRINN LANGDALE
DO YOUR WORK
Join Brinn Langdale, a trauma survivor turned licensed therapist, wholistic coach, speaker and writer, as she explains why everything you do makes absolute perfect sense. With a wide background in mental health, physical well-being, and holistic wisdom, Brinn takes a whole-you approach to healing, starting with the different parts of yourself like your Inner Critic, Inner Child and Adult-self. Contact Brinn
Recorded July 10, 2024 • 33:38 minutes
CLAIRE O’LEARY
EVERY LIVED EXPERIENCE MATTERS
Claire O’Leary is founder of The Empowered Voice (Traveling Art Exhibit & Symposium) and Voices Heard, the interactive e-Zine that empowers survivors to shatter the silence of their sexual abuse which helps them heal and help others heal through sharing their stories. Claire shares about being an incest survivor at age 5 by her uncle and again at age 16 by her father. Listen as Claire tells how she changed from being a survivor to a thriving activist, advocate and founder of Voices Heard eZine.
Recorded December 11, 2023 • 40:04 minutes
SHIRKYDRA ROBERTS, PART ONE
STAND UP ALONG SIDE US
Shirkydra Roberts is the founder and CEO of Impact, Aspire, Motivate Enterprises (I.A.M.E.). She was raised in a single-family home with her mother and two siblings;. She is a Motivational Speaker, Life Transformation Coach, #METOO Advocate, and Published Author. She is also serving as an Engineering Officer in the United States Navy. Shirkydra shares her experience of childhood sexual trauma, the aftermath, and recovery with the help of her Lord & Savior.
Recorded December 5, 2023 • 39:34 minutes
SHIRKYDRA ROBERTS, PART TWO
TALKING WITH THOSE WHO HARMED HER
Shirkydra shares the process of talking with those who harmed her, as well as her spiritual and cognitive therapy.
Recorded December 3, 2023 • 35:09 minutes
KELLY WALLACE
NORMALIZING THE CONVERSATION
Kelly Wallace is the host of the Recognize Our Power podcast, where she interviews survivors of sexual trauma about their stories and healing journeys. She’s also at work on a memoir, about her own experience as an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Kelly talks about generational childhood sexual abuse, alcoholism, recognizing our power and court proceedings.
Recorded December 18, 2023 • 39:59 minutes
BABS’ WALTERS
LISTEN, BELIEVE AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO STAY STRONG.
Babs’ Walters speaks on surviving a childhood of physical, emotional and sexual violence by her Jewish Father.
Recorded January 11, 2024 • 40:05 minutes
HOLLIS WILDER
THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS
Hollis Wilder shares her journey of uncovering and discovering herself through the gift of forgiveness and setting herself and her mother free.
Recorded December 5, 2023 • 39:34 minutes
